Writer-director Emerald Fennell goes from a ‘Promising Young Woman’ to an inauspicious young man with her follow-up to the 2020 black comedy which featured Carey Mulligan in a career-best performance. “Saltburn” feels at times like a John Waters film as it moseys through “Talented Mr. Ripley” territory, occasionally taking a pit stop in Divine’s neck of the woods before reaching its Downton Abbey-on-poppers destination. Enigmatic actor Barry Keoghan will forever be known for the unforgettable performance he delivers as the obsessed chameleon-like Oxford student in what will surely inspire a porn version of “Brideshead Revisited” (if only for name’s sake) while Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant delight in terrific supporting roles. Devilishly entertaining.
Keoghan has been popping up lately in small roles to remind moviegoers he’s still around (“The Banshees of Inisherin,” “The Green Knight”) but the Irish actor returns to the spotlight entering “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” territory for another standout role this time as student Oliver Quick who is attending Oxford University on a scholarship, which immediately ostracizes the underprivileged freshman as microaggressions are part of the classism that exists at the prestigious institution.
It’s hard to spot the story’s villain until Fennell starts dropping hints in the second act on the way to the big reveal. The first candidate is Farleigh played by Archie Madekwe who goes from “Gran Turismo” to grand machismo as the film’s provocateur who has Oliver in the crosshairs. I’ll explain later.
Oliver becomes obsessed with classmate and big man on campus Felix Catton (played by Jacob Elordi fresh from playing Elvis in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”), evidenced by Keoghan’s voice-over narration. But how is a “nobody” going to get the attention of Oxford’s tall, not-so-dark, and handsome popular student? The opportunity presents itself in the form of a flat tire.
While riding through campus, Oliver discovers Felix stranded on the side of the road, pondering his next move after his bike has a flat. The infatuated freshman offers Felix his bicycle, so he won’t be late for class, which throws the popular student for a loop. Felix is taken aback by Oliver’s generosity and later that evening when he spots Oliver at the local pub, he invites the neglected student to join him at the popular table for a round of drinks. This doesn’t sit well with Felix’s best friend Farleigh, a big proponent of social hierarchy, who becomes Oliver’s nemesis.
The charismatic Elordi is very likable despite being the super-rich and popular man on campus (usually a role reserved for a story’s jerk). Regardless of whether Felix is truly a compassionate person or someone who loves to have dominion over the less fortunate, when he asks Oliver to spend the summer with him at his family’s sprawling estate Saltburn, it’s seen as a modest act of friendship, not charity. Before I make Felix out to be a Saint, I should disclose that Oliver reveals that his parents struggle with mental health and addiction which may have influenced Felix’s invitation.
Once the setting moves from Oxford to Saltburn, the story becomes a satirical look at high society with quite a few wicked and funny moments thanks in part to Richard E. Grant as patriarch Sir James Catton and Rosamund Pike as matriarch Lady Elspeth. The two are clueless adults, as in a John Hughes film, yet a bit more pompous, and a hoot to be around as they deliver the film’s best lines of dialogue.
Upon meeting Oliver, Elspeth is relieved that he is good-looking, “Oliver, I have a complete and utter horror of ugliness ever since I was very young. I don’t know why” she comments. Felix retorts, “Maybe because you’re a terrible person” in his best James Spader patronizing tone. She later admits, “I was a lesbian for a while, you know, but it was all a bit too wet for me in the end. Men are so lovely and dry.” It’s awards season and Pike may just get a nod for Supporting Actress.
As Oliver gets settled in at the Catton country estate, which resembles Downton Abbey and comes complete with a head butler (a very good Paul Rhys) and footmen (whose names escape Felix), all is not fun and games as jealous Farleigh is always lurking about like Don John in “Much Ado About Nothing” looking to discredit Oliver. This leads to an uncomfortable round of karaoke as Farleigh sets up Oliver to sing the unfamiliar “Rent” by the Pet Shop Boys with the lyrics, “Look at my hopes, look at my dreams / The currency we spent / I love you, you pay my rent” making him feel like a charity case but then Oliver points out that Farleigh should finish the song because it also pertains to him, as the story reveals.
The cast includes Alison Oliver as Felix’s titillating younger sister Venetia who suffers from an eating disorder. “I like you even more than last year’s one” she comments to Oliver, suggesting that he is not the only classmate Felix has entertained over the summer. It’s also divulged what happened to last year’s guest of honor as Venetia comes between Oliver and Felix.
The star of Fennell’s 2020 feature Carey Mulligan has a small role as Elspeth’s friend “Poor Dear Pamela” who is temporarily staying at Saltburn after falling on hard times. Going full-Goth the unrecognizable actress is a welcomed but underutilized addition to the cast. They could have had so much fun with her character.
Fennell plays a wicked game of manipulation with the audience that leads to a few shocking (yet not-so-shocking moments) that feel inspired by the Pope of Trash Mr. John Waters, while balancing the comedy with some very dark moments; There is bloodshed (in more ways than one) and Felix shows ambition to graduate magna cum laude.
“Saltburn” doesn’t deliver the impact of the final act of “Promising Young Woman” but nonetheless the reveal is a nefarious aberration as the wild ride ends with an appropriate bang. Shot in a boxy 1.33:1 aspect ratio to give the film a voyeuristic quality as we peep into the lifestyles of the rich, the film is a visual treat thanks to cinematographer Linus Sandgren.
Music plays an important role in Emerald Fennell’s films. She is obviously stuck in the early 2000s as MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” becomes the film’s standout track just as “Stars Are Blind” by Paris Hilton played a similar role in her last feature. However, it’s “Murder On The Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor that will remain forged in your head thanks to Barry Keoghan’s dance moves as he lets it all hang out.
(3 1/2 stars)
Now showing in theaters
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