Name: The Saltburn dance.
Age: Spanking new: the film only came out in November.
Appearance: Mansion-based disco.
Are we still talking about Saltburn? Meh, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. Incisive criticism there; Peter Bradshaw can rest easy, I think. Anyway, not exactly. You know TikTok loves a dance craze?
That’s pretty much the only thing I know about TikTok. And you remember the scene in Saltburn when Barry Keoghan’s Oliver dances naked through the eponymous stately home to the Sophie Ellis-Bextor banger Murder on the Dancefloor?
Never say “banger” again. But yes, it’s very memorable. The boy has moves. Well, gen Z TikTokers have been reprising the scene in their own (or their parents’, presumably) homes, dancing round everything from an absurdly lavish chateau in Cannes to various British mansions and other enviable abodes. And it’s causing a kerfuffle.
Where’s the controversy? Is it the nudity? Oh no, they’re fully clothed; TikTok is prudish. But the dancers have been accused of being clunkingly tone deaf, showing off their lavish homes and lifestyles in these bleak cost of living times. The trend features plenty of Palladian piles full of grand pianos and ancestral portraits, dinner jackets, ballgowns, port, labradors … sort of Tatler meets TikTok. Other commenters have suggested the dancers are missing the point of the film, since the rich and privileged characters get their comeuppance.
What exactly are people saying? I haven’t seen any particularly salty, er, burns. It’s mainly variations on “you didn’t get the movie” and classic “eat the rich” stuff. I quite liked “Time to start making Saltburn a verb.”
If we’re making it a verb, “to Saltburn” should be what Keoghan’s gyrating hips do. Anyway, isn’t the irresistible allure of a gorgeous house and lifestyle sort of the point of the film? It’s true that the director, Emerald Fennell, has said it’s about the place and people being “impossible to resist”, and the film works hard to make its location look as dreamy as possible. But I’m not sure the dancers are making a subtle satirical commentary on envy; they mainly look as though they’re enjoying being pretty, in pretty places.
Saltburn did look very pretty. If you want to indulge your inner Oliver, TikTok can also show you how to see Drayton House, the location for Saltburn, in real life even though it’s not open to the public. A video explaining how to access the footpath that takes you right past it has been viewed more than 4m times.
Coincidentally, the same number of times I’ve watched the original dance. I thought you couldn’t see what all the fuss was about?
Do say: “It’s murder on Daddy’s dancefloor.”
Don’t say: “Coming soon: the TikTok Saltburn grave scene tributes trend.”
