‘Saltburn’ Is a Grotesque Blast of Empty Calories

I can’t disagree with much in Wesley Morris’ scathing review of Saltburn in the New York Times. But just as one rider of a rollercoaster can find it irritating and another can find it exhilarating, I do feel like Saltburn has plenty to offer even if its style far outpaces its substance. The film may ultimately be a shallow examination of shallow people, but I can’t deny that writer-director Emerald Fennell has a keen eye for striking visuals as well as getting strong performances from her actors. I was captivated for every moment of Saltburn even if I came away with nothing more than a typical class critique about how people who have everything tend to value nothing.

Channeling a mix of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Parasite, and a dose of Dickensian class conflict, the story follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a young man at Oxford in 2002 who doesn’t fit in with his peers. His only friend is an unhinged math nerd, and where Ollie really wants to be is in with the cool crowd led by the wealthy and handsome Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). When Felix’s bike breaks down, Oliver lends his to Felix, and the two become friends. Oliver is able to further worm his way into Felix’s social circle, much to the chagrin of Farleigh (Archie Madekwe), Felix’s friend and cousin. After their junior year, Felix learns that Oliver’s father has died, and so he sympathetically invites the grieving son to stay the summer at his family’s palatial estate, Saltburn. There, Oliver further ingratiates himself to Felix as well his Felix’s mother Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike), father James (Richard E. Grant), sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), and family friend “Poor Dear” Pamela (Carey Mulligan). Also present (and far more wary of Oliver’s presence) are Farleigh and the butler Duncan (Paul Rhys). As the summer winds on, Oliver looks to solidify his place at Saltburn as he works various family members against each other.

As a COVID movie (even though it takes place mostly in 2005), Saltburn is at its most effective. It’s a movie that’s about a fascination with the lives of others as bodily fluids swim about. In an interview with Uproxx’s Mike Ryan, Fennell said of the film:

Saltburn’s greatest fascination is with not only with the lives of the wealthy, but our desire to become them even though they’re callow, fickle, and easily duped. As perverse as Oliver’s actions can be, we’re meant to empathize to an extent because he’s not as wealthy as Felix. All of Saltburn’s treasures are meant to dazzle, but only an outsider like Oliver can appreciate them because he would have to work to earn such things rather than have them handed down through the good fortune of birth.

The big question surrounding Saltburn (and one the ending kind of botches in its desire for a “gotcha!”) is how much Oliver loves Felix, or if he just loves what Felix represents. Both Keoghan and Elordi are masterful in their performances. Keoghan perfectly conveys his longing for Felix while Elordi is effortlessly alluring as an almost godlike figure who shines a ray of light on mere mortals. But like the Greek gods, Felix and his ilk are also shallow, petty, and vindictive. You need to stay in their good graces lest you be exiled from Saltburn.

Fennell is pretty good at towing the line between the appeal of Saltburn and its inhabitants as well as its underlying grotesqueries. We wouldn’t want to be caught in the web of any of these people (Oliver included), but we’re having fun at the bacchanal where the outside world and its concerns can’t touch us. Similar to a show like Succession, everyone wants to be at the top even though it’s cold, calcified, and packed with tempestuous, venal people whose animating force is a desire to cling to whatever scraps of power and status they can horde. The best we as viewers can hope for is to watch them all eat each other.

However, that conclusion is where Saltburn falls short. Its “eat the rich” message may resonate, but it’s a familiar tune by now, and despite influences ranging from Highsmith to Hitchcock, Fennell doesn’t seem to have much more to add to the conversation. Whereas a film like Parasite excels because it finds the humanity and tragedy in wealth disparity, Saltburn is more like watching jackals fight over a carcass. Fennell douses the action in harsh lighting and peppers it with pretty much every bodily fluid, but she never finds a way to find something substantive to the lives of these superficial people. That leaves Saltburn feeling like a raging party with a wicked hangover.

What I’m Watching

There’s too much TV. We all know this, but I feel like there’s too much TV just in the last week along. I’m trying to keep up with The Curse, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, The Gilded Age, and The Crown. That’s too much! I’m just one person!

Also, since I’m a member of critics’ groups, the studios are cramming in all their awards players regardless of whether we have time to see them or not. Last week I saw screenings of Maestro, Napoleon, Saltburn, Wish, and Poor Things, and still didn’t have time (whether due to conflicts or last-minute scheduling on the part of the studio) to see The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Color Purple, and Origin. Too many things!

What I’m Reading

I’m in the middle of Matt Singer’s Opposable Thumbs, and I love it so far. I’ve read Singer’s writing online for well over a decade, so the fact that he’s a talented author doesn’t come as a surprise, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of the narrative. The way he draws the reader into prologue of Siskel & Ebert not only clearly paints both men, but also helps to position their approach to film criticism. I’m eager to see how the full story unfolds.

What I’m Hearing

I highly recommend Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. It’s no surprise that Power is well-suited to Dylan (I recommend listening to her cover of the folk song Moonshiner, which Dylan recorded in 1963), and this whole album is just a perfect combination of two artists. I hope this isn’t the last time we hear Power take on a collection of Dylan songs.

What I’m Playing

I cannot adequately describe how much fun I’m having playing Super Mario RPG on Switch. Yes, it’s polished nostalgia, but that doesn’t it stop the game from being colorful, endearing, and inviting. It’s like stepping into a childhood home that’s been remodeled. You know where everything is and the memories associated with the various rooms, but you also admire the way it’s been updated.