_{By: Amanda Guarragi}

When we look at society, it has become more evident that a class system affects almost every aspect of the economy and living practices. Those who are less fortunate recognize the systemic privileges of a group of people. It feels impossible to enter that world, but there is an obsession with wanting to be part of it. Everyone has aspirations to become successful, but how far would you go to reach it? In Saltburn, writer-director Emerald Fennell dives into the obsession of the elite and physically personifies it with the Catton family who live at Saltburn. You get a sense of their snobbery and who they affiliate themselves with. There’s a false sense of empathy, yet you can’t help but be fascinated by their lifestyle. Fennell captures the absurdity of their actions while developing a fantasy world that will draw you into Saltburn. What begins as a star-crossed friendship spirals into a thirst for power and wealth in a devilish way. 

We meet Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), who is a new student at Oxford University, and he is instantly drawn to Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Felix is a charming aristocrat who is surrounded by plenty of friends. Oliver is more reserved and mousy, while Felix is more outgoing and assertive. After watching him from afar for some time, Oliver has the opportunity to speak to Felix when he sees that his bike has broken down on the side of the road. Felix is overjoyed when Oliver says he can borrow his bike and instantly takes a liking to him. At first, Fennell makes it seem that Felix is grateful and genuinely wants to get to know Oliver. They become extremely close and share many private things. The cinematography by Linus Sandgren is complex and stunning as he frames the richness of Felix’s world while forming a fantasy for Oliver. Even though it’s through the lens of Oliver, there’s still a sense of who Felix is as a stereotype. Elordi plays it as sweetly as possible with his portrayal of Felix. However, there’s this underlying balance of power that he must have control over Oliver because of his status. 

Towards the middle of the semester, Oliver becomes mesmerized by Felix and thus begins his obsession to remain his friend. Felix exudes this warmth and care that Oliver has never experienced because of his upbringing. Oliver explains that his parents are drug addicts and that he came from a rundown household. He’s hoping that attending Oxford will get him out of that place. Felix takes Oliver under his wing because he feels he’s doing an act of kindness. Their closeness becomes interesting as Oliver begins to clean up after Felix and looks after him as if they were in a relationship. Felix then begins to distance himself because it’s getting too intimate, and Oliver’s infatuation overpowers his logic. After Oliver’s father dies unexpectedly, Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer with him at his family home. When they get to Saltburn, this is where Oliver changes from that reserved young man to a charming and outspoken one. The change comes with the atmosphere, and it’s almost as if Oliver adapted to the Catton family. 

Barry Keoghan is perfectly cast as Oliver. There’s an emptiness behind his eyes; there is no way to know what Oliver is thinking in his mind. With each new meeting with a family member, Oliver taps into their interests and shows how insightful he can be. He pays attention to detail, even among conversations that he overhears and utilizes that to his advantage to get on the Cattons’ good side. Fennell had Oliver come across as a doting lover who gets in good with the family so Felix would appreciate his efforts. The way Elordi was framed through the eyes of Oliver was so intoxicating and filled with lust that it was so believable how badly Oliver wanted him. However, once Oliver began to prey on the people closest to Felix, the facade of a doting lover vanished, and it seemed that Oliver had a different plan. What Fennell has Keoghan do at Saltburn house is sultry yet disturbing at the same time. It’s impossible to look away when Oliver uses sexual advances as a weapon to manipulate those around him. Even with Felix’s mother, Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), there’s a flirty nature between their conversations. 

The events that transpire at the end of Saltburn are alarming but address the obsession one has with the aristocrats. Oliver’s feelings for Felix are taken far, but Fennell physically shows the lengths of that obsession. The bathtub scene is the most explicit of them all. The desire to enter the world of the upper class has Oliver on a mission to cement himself in that world. The only issue with the film is that the themes and Oliver’s plan were too on the nose in the end and would have been better if left ambiguous. Keoghan is brilliant as Oliver, and his chemistry with Elordi as Felix carries the film. Fennell does lean on the insanity of the high society lifestyle but subverts expectations when destroying it. For her sophomore film, Fennell crafts a commentary on the upper class through hatred and yearning. It’s interesting to see both within Oliver as he hates his position and how the aristocrats conduct themselves. At first, he wants to feel seen by them, and later, he wants to become them. The final scene with another great needle drop from Fennell ties the entire film together as Oliver has achieved his goal.