If by now you haven’t heard of Saltburn, well I’m sorry you live in a cave. Everyone and their mother are talking about it, the main reason -initially- being, let’s be honest : JACOB ELORDI.
Don’t give me wrong, I adore Elordi but this movie has way more to offer than the charisma of its supporting role’s actor. And no, I am not only talking about the bathtub scene. While some might say it is a copycat of The Talented Mr. Ripley movie, I have to admit that I didn’t really saw it until I read some critics and Emerald Fennel, Saltburn’s writer and director didn’t admit taking any inspiration from this movie. I think Saltburn is the kind of movie you either hate or love. Every single detail is deeply thought of and each aspect of this movie is carefully polished.
While from the outside it seems like Felix Catton - aka Jacob Elordi - is the main character of Saltburn’s movie, it is in fact Barry Keoghan playing Oliver Quick, a young Oxford scholarship student. The story takes place in 2006 in mainly two places: Oxford’s campus and Saltburn, the Catton’s family propriety. During the first few minutes, Oliver is portrayed as a said “looser”, a “nobody”, totally transparent to the college society while in total contrast Felix is the sought after guy, seen and loved by everyone that crosses his road. Fasting forward, Oliver and Felix will coincidentally meet and develop a questionable relationship. The summer after graduation, Felix invites Oliver at Saltburn, in the deep ends of aristocracy where mysterious events will take place and the real nature of the characters will arise.
Before getting into deeper details about the story and the outcomes, let’s discuss the visual aspects of the movie.
Spoilers will be included.
I- VISUAL ASPECTS
The entire movie is shot in a 1.33:1 ratio using Kodak 35mm film with none other than Linus Sandgren as a cinematographer. Emerald Fennell, Saltburn’s director and writer, says choosing this aspect ratio helped a lot in showcasing the house and gave a sense of immersion and voyeurism in the characters’ lives. The lighting is on point and the color grading is remarkable. The composition is splendid and the set design team has really gotten into details : colgate toothpaste in the fancy gothic bathroom, the fly strip on the chandelier, silly hats on the marble statues… even the Cotton Family doll box ends up being so important towards the end. All those tiny details bring life and contrast to the magnificence of Saltburn’s estate and enhance in some level the fetishism of beauty and voyeurism.
Another major visual aspect is the costume design. As previously said, it’s all mainly happening in 2006-2007, the stud in Felix’s eyebrow confirms it. We can also notice their well picked jewelries and a bunch of different nostalgic details. Costume design not only plays a crucial role on helping viewers situate themselves in time but it also communicates a lot about the personalities of the characters which bring us to character development.
II - CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Sophie Canale, the head of the costume design department on Saltburn did an amazing job on translating each character’s personality and emotional state through their outfits. They all have a specific wardrobe giving away clues on their identity and behaviors.
Oliver Quick, the main persona, go through the biggest style transformation throughout the movie as his character evolves and changes. Early on, he is dressed in old-fashioned clothes, he wears glasses, dull colors and patterns… his hair is carefully slicked back and his body language is closed and reserved translating a discret attitude. Once he and Felix start hanging out together, he looses the glasses and puts away the grandpa look, revealing his chest from time to time. He progressively carries himself differently, gets comfortable with his body and end up literally naked by the end of the film. This simple yet effective costume transformation shows the evolution of a character, in this case Oliver’s state of mind, his intentions and his real nature. Over the course of the movie, we realize Oliver is a sort of cameleon that can morph his way into anything he wants. He is a kind of sociopath we take a moment to pin down.
Elspeth Catton, Felix’s mom, played by the marvelous Rosamund Pike, is seen wearing poshy clean bohemian looks. At first sight, she is pictured as free-spirited, soft hearted, eccentric woman and we quickly realize she is not as warm and carefree as she seems : Felix reveals his mom has a beard and piercing phobia (hence the removal of Felix’s stud), obligating men to be fully shaved when in Saltburn. A “hygienic thing” says Felix that appears to rather be a sort of obsession for beauty and flawlessness. During black tie dinners and other more formal events, while being more elevated, her garments keep this tender hippie hint blurring away her detached essence. Besides the styling aspect for Elspeth Catton, her attitude is slightly double sided ; I think she really has a part of airy-fairy and kind in her but she enhances it to seem less heartless. “She either loves or loads everybody” said Rosamund Pike. Basically it’s all good and relaxed as long as you do exactly what’s asked of you.
Another exemple for whom costume choices conceals authentic nature is Venetia Catton, Felix’s sister, performed by Alison Oliver. Venetia is a young woman dressed in bright colors and sparkles. Pink dominates and sexy -slightly trashy- details tie it all together. Well, she is not as vibrant as her apparels. Venetia is in fact desperate for love and attention overflowing with repressed sadness and insecurity, all buried under glam. We sometimes get a pick of a more rebellious, dark Venetia. She sort of goes back an forth between a tipsy lolita and a grungy rockstar. Towards the end, when the tragedy hits, she embodies the depressed teenager she really is while everyone else -but Farleigh- is still dressed in their usual clothing and act almost as if nothing has happened.
While the remaining characters don’t have a multi-faceted wardrobe, their traits are just as well developed, complex and layered. As previously stated, Felix is the popular guy in Oxford. He is the playboy, the guy everyone is interested by. However, his character is more nuanced than the average college golden boy. He is globally pictured as a kind and loyal friend, a generous man yet he has a darker side outlined by a hint of jealousy and possessiveness. Fennell says “Felix isn’t the good guy” even if he ends up being portrayed as such. We will discuss further details about Felix’s character on the Storytelling part of this essay.
Even more brief roles like Micheal’s, Pamela’s and Duncan’s are subject to significant detailed traits, each bringing an important piece to the story.
Micheal Gavey, played by Ewan Mitchell, is an Oxford academic Oliver meets during his first night there. He is a “maths genius” and “Norman no mates” [add definition] who totally accepts his fate to be perceived as a college nerd, a looser and that refuses to change to fit into a mold and placate others. He is comfortable with his personality unlike Oliver who eagerly wants to become a “cooler” guy and get closer to Felix’s group. Ewan Mitchell says he wanted to be as true to character as possible and for the viewers to imaging seeing Micheal in other scenes. While shooting, he kept by his feet a “used Tesco carrier bag full of algebra and Crunchy bars” that he would also carry off set. I think Micheal’s role acted as an indicator to the audience of who Oliver actually is. Some even elaborated a theory that states Micheal comes from Oliver’s imagination as he is the only one to ever interact with him and the displayed details kinda made sense.
I also read a few theories on Pamela’s role. Pamela, interpreted by Carey Mulligan is Elspeth friend we meet when Oliver arrives at Saltburn. She apparently hides from her ex-boyfriend, a russian millionaire. It is implied that Pamela has been in Saltburn for quite a while and that she is welcome to find her own place and move out. Elspeth often refers to her as “Poor Dear Pamela” and she is to her what Oliver is to Felix: a charity case, a way for them to feel like good-hearted and considerate people. Pamela is naive and fragile which oppose with her whimsical gothic look. She ends up disappearing mysteriously from Saltburn and dies off screen later in the movie.
One of the most interesting figure of the movie was for me Duncan, the Catton’s family butler. He IS Saltburn. Just as Fennell explained how she envisioned Duncan’s character, we do really feel like “he could have been there for 1000 years” and that “he is one of the bricks.” Paul Rhys, embodies Duncan at its finest ; in an interview he reveals working on “enormous details” while building his character’s back story. Paul says Duncan is “from a single parent, and at 14 he went there and thought, ‘I want a bit of this.’ he ends up working there and dedicating his life to the Cattons “he is really that house more than anybody”. Towards the end of the movie when Oliver and Elspeth meet in a cafe few years after the tragedy, Oliver asks if Duncan is still in Saltburn and of course he is because as Rhys says “if he's not there, it's not Saltburn in a way.”.
III- THE STORYTELLING
The chronology of Saltburn is a bit murky, as Oliver is an unreliable narrator we cannot necessarily trust to recount the story exactly as it happened. At first sight, while Felix is the popular guy everyone loves, he is presented as the one we should be wary of. He has a mysterious part in him making the viewer wonder if his kindness is genuine and his intentions towards Oliver are unclear. I believe one of the pillar of this story is the controversial, ambiguous relationship between Oliver and Felix.
The opening scene is Oliver is a suit, talking to the camera about Felix and his love for him as past history. At first sight, this set up looks like a police interrogation scene as if Oliver is giving his side of the story to an investigator. This scene is quickly followed by a montage of various moments in the movie of Oliver and Felix. It is such a powerful sequence: it is the greatest hook and the perfect amount of information revealed.
Oliver’s initial mission is to become a cooler, popular boy by proxy. He starts hanging out with Felix after “randomly” running into him in the park. By ditching Micheal at the pub to join Felix’s table without shame or gilt, we understand Oliver is willing to do anything to integrate Felix’s close circle. At that point, Oliver remains the “scholarship boy who buy his clothes from Oxfam” but we sense his interest for Felix turns to obsession. Their relationship take another turn once Oliver reveals to Felix his family situation after the “so-called” death of is father, explaining he grew up in a dysfunctional family with addict parents. Felix appears more compassionate and caring, their connection seems on the verge of a romantic bond.
Fasting forward to graduation. Oliver explains he has nowhere to go reaching indirectly for an invitation from Felix ; Felix, joyfully asks Oliver to come to Saltburn with him where he would be able to stay for “as long as he liked”.
The first impression of Saltburn is very important. From outside it looks like a massive mansion, a castle “behind close doors” surrounded by fences and a gate. The front door itself is just as impressive which is overwhelming, oppressive. This is when we meet Duncan, the heart of Saltburn in all his coldness and mystery, practically frightening approach. Here, we have sympathy for Oliver who, in full amazement, almost childishly, discovers this new world of magnitudes. We can sense his discomfort and shyness in front of Duncan and the rest of the Catton’s family for the first few days there, which purposely makes his character more touching and relatable.
The way Saltburn operates is intriguing : staff pack or unpack guests’ bags reporting anything suspicious to Elspeth ; men must be fully shaved ; dinners are black tie themed ; broken mirrors are changed overnight and lunches are maintained even in extreme situations. As I previously mentioned, Saltburn’s dynamic communicates an in built voyeurism and a comfortable life dependent on respected conditions. All this awkwardness hides underneath the Catton’s family disarming charm and we are divided between the general unease feeling conveyed by the family members and the slowly changing attitude of Oliver.
Indeed, Ollie gains confidence and his passion for Felix deepens. Here, I am specifically referring to the bathtub scene and the question -among others- that arises is : Was Oliver romantically in love with Felix or was he so deeply obsessed with him, with his life and his general persona that he wanted to become him, literally ? In an interview Emerald Fennell says that body fluids are the most intimate part of someone and in the case of this scene, it only makes sense that Oliver slurps on Felix’s fluids as he wants to fully embody his life. Later on, Oliver gets in contact with other character’s body fluids : Venetia’s menstruations and Fairleigh’s semen. At this point we understand a little more Oliver’s true intentions but it’s only when Felix’s “surprises” him by bringing him at his parents house that we truly discover Oliver’s manipulating talent, his lies and his will to suck life out of everyone. Emerald Fennell says Saltburn is a “vampire movie” without the fantasy and I agree.
Things get dark after Felix finds out about Oliver’s actual family situation.For the context, the Cattons threw a two hundred people birthday party for Oliver taking place at Saltburn. Felix asks Oliver to leave the premises after the party and Oliver keeps chasing Felix to have the chance to explain why he lied. Even tough Oliver wants to become Felix, until the very edge, it looks like he doesn’t want to eliminate him but rather wants him to be his friend “the only friend he ever had”. During the party, the guests are dressed up, Oliver is wearing a deer antlers head piece while Felix is wearing golden angel wings, giving away a few clues on what’s ahead of us.
Their love/hate, passionate, ambiguous relationship is one of the details that allowed me to be hooked until the end because I wanted to see how far it could go. And, I wasn’t disappoin
Major Spoiler Alert: Felix dies during Oliver’s birthday party and is found in the maze the morning after. Follows the most awkward lunch in history during which Elspeth, Sir James and Oliver discuss how good the party was acting almost as if nothing happened. When Duncans comes to close the curtains, the dinning room, is filled with red and this moment marks an emotional burst where everyone let out a bit of its true nature: Venetia empties the wine bottle desperately, Farleigh who shows a usual composed and confident behavior looses it and starts panicking, Elspeth remains globally detached and rooted in her routine, Sir James who is typically calm is taken by anger and Oliver, finally, points out the finger to Fairleigh when the question of what he is still doing here pops up. Basically Oliver says he would feel guilty too if he was the one who spent the evening taking lines with Felix who is now dead. Hearing this, Sir James asks for Fairleigh to leave immediately and says he will have nothing to do with Saltburn anymore. One more eliminated. In real life, I feel like the invited friend should return home or to campus in that case and leave the family grieving. But not Oliver! He stays at Saltburn even after the funeral and wears Felix’s bathrobe around intensify the obsession Oliver has for Felix and the overall discomfort of the movie.
Talking about obsession, discomfort and funeral, there is one specific scene I want to address : you see where I’m going.... The grave scene. In my opinion, this two minute scene was right. It was necessary to go all the way into the story. It showcases perfectly Oliver’s mental state, his intentions and the strange relationship he developed with Felix. A fun fact that makes this scene even more uncomfortable and genius at the same time is knowing that Barry Keoghan improvised it on the day of filming. At this point, I was still questioning the cause of Felix’s death and if murder, his killer. For me, the fascination Oliver had for Felix was too close to love for him to be the murder but in reality the fascination he had was stronger than I anticipated and was the motivator for getting rid of him as he quickly understood he couldn’t like him or just be him if he was around.
A cinematographic detail I really enjoyed but only saw later when analyzing the movie, is during the breakfast scene, the first morning after Oliver’s arrival at Saltburn, Venetia tells a story of a poet’s housekeeper seeing his doppelgänger through a window before the poet dies. At this very moment, we see Felix passing through the window behind Venetia while he is sitting next to her at the same time. This detail shadows his upcoming death.
Shortly after Felix’s death, Venetia unalive herself in the bathtub. Oliver, still in Saltburn, attends to the funeral and has no intention of leaving when Sir James asks him to and even offers him a check. Oliver finally leaves Saltburn. We think it’s over but the plot twist hasn’t occurred yet.
The story continues but it’s 2022 and Oliver is reading the newspaper in what looks like his apartment. From a sneak peak into the newspaper, the viewer is informed of Sir James’ death. Simultaneously, Elspeth gets into a coffeeshop. Her look is slightly different and her hair is shorter which highlights that the time has passed. While waiting for her order, Elspeth sees Oliver through the mirror. She is surprised and delighted to see him. After a small talk, Elspeth invites Oliver to “come and stay” at Saltburn with her.
Oliver finally reveals himself, verbally, truthfully, sitting in what happens to be Elspeth room -and not a police interrogation set- talking directly to her, laying intubated on a hospital bed. The speech from the opening scene talking about his feelings for Felix comes back and so does the montage of passed memories. Though, this time it gets deeper : Oliver planed it all, from his very first day at Oxford to the coffee shop meeting with Elspeth.
IV- THE FINALLY
Oliver won, he got rid of everyone that was in his way, starting by dumping Micheal, then killing Felix, he got Fairleigh inherited, killed Venetitia or pushed her to take her life which later led to Sir James death before finally unintubaned Elspeth. Even Pamela died. He is the only one left - technically. The two minutes ending scene is the cherry on top. It marks the victory of Oliver’s plan in taking over Saltburn. He is shown fully naked dancing through the house following the exact same itinerary as Felix’s when he first showed around but backward. Barry Keoghan said he was “particularly nervous about the dancing part and that nudity wasn’t such a problem”. He trained a few time to be as comfortable with the choreography as he could before giving it a shot in front of the camera. Emerald Fennell chose “Murder on the dance floor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor to accompany Keoghan’s moves. The perfect early 2000 celebration song literally transcribing the scene with the lyrics. At the end of his little lip-dub, Oliver makes his way around a table placed in the center of the massive entrance room to be reunited with his trophy : the Catton’s paper puppet box -we saw earlier in Oliver’s room at Saltburn- and each of the family members stones, originally thrown in the river at their funerals. From what we know, Oliver got away with his far-fetched plan and loved the Catton’s life so much he squeezed it all out until nothing -or no one- was left. But one character is left out of the ending and Oliver’s fate as the estate holder still isn’t entirely sealed due to his survival. I am of course talking about Duncan. Duncan’s observant nature through out the movie indicates he knows far more about Oliver's intentions than the others so it is only natural to imagine he would probably won’t let Oliver become the new head of Saltburn. This part isn’t clear nor specifically explained, but I would love to know how Duncan and Oliver would deal with each other both being aware of the initial plan as well as the real nature of Oliver. Duncan devotion to Saltburn is so strong matching Oliver’s obsession with the Cattons and their estate that those two similar yet different emotions would create a complexe relationship and a very interesting part two in my opinion.
While the intension of stealing Felix’s life was pretty clear from the beginning, I feel like some informations are lacking. Why kill everyone if what he initially wanted was taking Felix’s place? If what he initially wanted was the estate and the wealthy heritage he must have had some information about Felix’s family and reputation prior to coming to Oxford. If so, how and what kind of info? Maybe it is something in between : he originally wanted to become Felix and then realized when discovering his family and Saltburn that he could have a larger piece of cake.I will not get into the answering of those questions but I would love to hear your opinions and theories.
Now, the question is : are you truly shocked or are you pretending to be?