Emerald Fennell burst onto the scene as a writer/director with the brilliant and hard-edged Promising Young Woman in 2020, creating a great deal of excitement for her second directorial outing, Saltburn. Well, her sophomore outing will definitely have you talking, with a good bit of what happens needing to be seen to be believed. But how much you enjoy everything that happens on screen is going to vary.
For myself, I found Saltburn to be a darkly funny dip into depravity and class warfare with a great leading performance from Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) and some memorable supporting turns. However, while still pushing boundaries, the movie lacked some of the qualities that Promising Young Woman had, making it a less enjoyable watch overall.
Saltburn takes place in the early 2000s (which is still incredible to think that makes this movie a "period piece") and follows Oliver Quick (Keoghan), an intelligent but isolated new student at Oxford. Oliver longs to join the ranks of the school's socialites and gets his chance when he lends a hand to the aristocratic Felix (Priscilla's Jacob Elordi). Oliver and Felix become friends, with Felix inviting him to his family estate when summer arrives. Though can Oliver truly belong in this type of life or is he just a plaything for the rich Felix and his family (played by Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe and Alison Oliver)?
What proceeds is basically psychological class warfare. Oliver and others are almost constantly playing games or barely hiding their ulterior motives to raise themselves or knock someone else down. However, there are times when the psychological turns to physical actions that are often quite shocking.
These outrageous sequences contribute to the movie's dark humor, as well as some hilarious performances from Pike, Grant and a quick appearance by Carey Mulligan. But it is a balancing act for the entire movie between scenes eliciting a shocking burst of laughter and the dread of lingering too long to the point of being uncomfortable. That uneasy feeling may very well be the goal for Fennell, but it makes it a tougher watch that could lose some.
Also contributing to that is the fact you're not going to be rooting for anyone in this movie. All of the characters are scheming or belittling (directly or indirectly) to each other. While we are following Oliver the whole way, we know there is something off about him the entire time that doesn't get fully revealed until later in the movie. However, some of the things that are treated as reveals later on aren't really that surprising, though narratively speaking they do work.
Where you cannot fault Saltburn is that it looks great. The cinematography is luscious for most but flips to eerie in critical moments, while the estate of Saltburn is the perfect modern-day gothic setting for this story. Fennell's script, meanwhile, does not dull the edges.
It's a bold swing by Fennel, who's come a long way since her days on Call the Midwife, which should be no surprise from anyone who saw her debut movie. I'm just not sure it is the home run that Promising Young Woman was. Saltburn entertains but it can just as easily grate you. At the very least, there will be moments that you won't soon forget.
Saltburn releases exclusively in select movie theaters in the US and UK on November 17 before expanding everywhere on November 24.
