Saltburn – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Emerald Fennell
Writer – Emerald Fennell
Stars – Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Archie Madekwe

Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) arrives in Oxford unsure of himself and intimidated by the suave self-confidence of the other undergraduates. He is an outsider, a scholarship boy. He comes from Prescot, near Liverpool. He has intimidatory early encounters with Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe). Farleigh Start’s cousin Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) befriends Oliver as a result of an incident where Oliver is helpful to Felix. Felix has everything – immensely good-looking, an abundance of charm and immensely rich. His family’s money stretches back through generations and Felix has the confidence that such generational affluence can instill. Oliver explains his background which needless to say is very different and so Felix invites Oliver to stay with him and his family for the vacation. They live in an ancestral mansion Saltburn which is a world apart from Oliver’s upbringing. There Oliver meets the Catton family.

The family consists of Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), his wife Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), and their daughter Venetia (Alison Oliver) who is seductive. Fairleigh who continues to intimidate is a part of the household. There is a long-standing house guest Pamela (Carey Mulligan) who has problems with addiction.  They are a privileged crew and the grandeur of it all is exemplified by the fact that they change for dinner! Naturally, there is a bevvy of servants headed by a suitably austere butler Duncan (Paul Rhys). In this intimidating world, Oliver initially seems off balance but he begins to negotiate the intricacies of this family and its grandeur. A magnificent maze of hedges in the garden is a suitable metaphor for the intricate relationships which begin and end in and around the mansion. The macabre becomes the norm.

Keoghan who is Irish and Elordi is Australian/ Spanish are each splendid representing different aspects of the English class divide.  Keoghan captures the complexity of Oliver’s character as he negotiates with his own family background and the world he has now entered. Oliver is creative about his past and Keoghan manages to retain Oliver’s credibility when he is partially exposed. Elordi is superlative as the perfectly mannered young man but also steely as he takes the reins and forces Oliver to face his past. These two young actors are on their way up. Pike has already arrived there and she is completely engaging as the welcoming and confident chatelaine who has a bit of a past now well behind her. Evans is suitably cast as Sir James. The part seems almost to have been written for him.  Alison Oliver is perfect as the bored and ineffectual Venetia who has lived a life of privilege without the means to do so. Madekwe was suitably unnerving as Farleigh who is both an insider into this world of privilege because of his mother but also an outsider because of his mixed race. He walks this tightrope assuredly. This unlikely crew are the ingredients for the plot which contains many twists and turns

The film seems to have reached its climax with a birthday party for Oliver but the macabre story has still some way to run. As a film, it is a visual delight as the architecture of Oxford and Drayton Park (which is Saltburn) are a joy to behold. The acting is first-rate including a solo dance scene from Keoghan which will surely be a topic of conversation when this film is being discussed. Grim things occur in this film. That is the nature of grand country house dramas. However, because of the magnificence of the surroundings in which it all happens, it gives you the feeling of entering and experiencing a fantastical world. Oxford and Saltburn are like make-believe. The film is written and directed by Emerald Fennell, hot on the heels of her success with Promising Young Woman, which won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, along with several other nominations. This work proves she is no ‘one-hit wonder’.