Review: Saltburn

Seems rich people are vapid, self-obsessed, thoughtlessly cruel, and often stupid: who knew? But don't worry, Saltburn also lets us know that poor(er) people are creepy, abrasive, socially inept and straight-out murderous. Lucky everyone is so good looking, hey?

Emerald Fennell's follow-up to Promising Young Woman once again wraps a story that wants to mean something but really doesn't in a very stylish package largely carried by the performances, though here there's also a collection of decade-old bangers on the soundtrack to keep you distracted. It'd be a case of style over substance, only there isn't any substance - but there is a bit of substance abuse that eventually becomes relevant to the plot.

Oxford student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) has no mates and no connections, which puts him perpetually on the outer at a university where either you're part of the elite or you're nothing. And at the center of the social swirl is Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi); women want him, men want to be him, and when Oliver lends him his bike so he can get to class on time, suddenly Oliver has an in with the in crowd.

Maintaining his status isn't easy, and even distracted viewers will rapidly pick up on the not-so-subtle clues that things aren't entirely as they seem with Oliver. No matter: a personal tragedy at just the right time scores Oliver an invite to spend the holidays with Felix at the family mansion Saltburn, and there the real fun begins.

Felix's parents (Richard E Grant and Rosamund Pike) are comedy buffoons; his sister Annabel (Sadie Soverall) is what you might call "a party girl". Fellow guest Farleigh (Archie Madewe) has a bully's eye for Oliver's weaknesses, partly because his family's standing (and wealth) isn't as solid as he'd like. As for Pamela (Carey Mulligan), she's a drip who doesn't seem to realise it's time to leave.

This stretch is the best in the film, mostly because stupid careless rich people are always entertaining even if there's absolutely nothing new being said. Fennell is at her best when she's merely suggesting that something isn't quite right, and the numerous scenes here where class and status is undermined and then re-enforced have an engaging energy to them.

But even the best parties have to end sometime, and gradually it becomes clear that Oliver's interest in Felix isn't merely friendship but runs on some unsettling parallel track marked obsession. Also, he seems surprisingly good at manipulating the other members of Felix's family (admittedly, not a tough job). What exactly is his end game, and why is he slurping up Felix's bathwater after Felix jerked off into it?

Unfortunately the answer seems to be "don't worry about it", because no sooner does the plot kick in than it becomes clear that Fennell is a lot better at coming up with striking scenes than she is with stringing them all together in a way that builds to anything, let alone makes sense. 

The film's shock twist conclusion pretty much contradicts much of what's come before and largely relies on you going "oh, it's an update of The Talented Mr Ripley, I'm quite smart for having realised that"; on whatever level you choose, the story doesn't work.

Overall it's largely forgettable and often silly, but there are a number of fun and effective scenes along the way. It definitely doesn't hurt that Keoghan - whose short stature is repeatedly emphasised here - is 100% going for it every chance he gets. 

There's not a lot of roles that require you to drop your pants and literally have sex with (not on - with) a fresh grave; the fact that's not the part of his performance everyone is talking about should give you some idea of what you're in for with Saltburn.

- Anthony Morris