Saltburn: Is It Worth Watching?

Amazon Prime welcomed subscribers to this year's most talked about film of the year, Saltburn. For a film whose tagline is “Don’t get lost”, that is exactly what happened. ​

Saltburn follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship student at Oxford University who has trouble fitting in and becomes fascinated by a fellow student, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi,) a charming aristocrat. As they develop a friendship, Felix invites Oliver to his family estate, and things get weird.

There were a few events that bothered me with this film. It's not as entertaining as the trailers projected the film to be. At times, I wanted to stop watching, but like a good car crash, I wanted to see what foolishness would happen.

What is Saltburn about?

One of the main things that bothered me with this film was, what is it about? I still don’t know. I thought it was a film about obsession. The way Oliver watches Felix as if he’s a delicious snack that he can’t wait to devour is all that my mind fixated on. The fascination with Felix and the world in which he and fellow wealthy Oxford Students live in, I can get behind. It reminded me of Talented Mr. Ripley, where Matt Damon’s character is intrigued by Jude Law’s lifestyle to the point where he takes Jude Law’s identity. I was all prepared for this film to go in that direction. 

Instead, Oliver is nuts. He infiltrates Felix's world and picks off each family member like a sniper. I almost went along with it because by Oliver knocking the pieces off the board, he is a step closer to his target, but the film doesn't want the focus to be on the obsession, at least not the way we’re seeing it. 

It looks to be that Saltburn wants the audience to focus on the wealth. We are occasionally reminded of the disparity between the Cattons and everyone else. Oliver is told he doesn’t belong, no matter how hard he tries. Oliver tells us that he does not come from a great home life; mental health issues and addiction run in his family and his father is dead. The film likes to make it well known that he is a scholarship kid at a prestigious university. The Cattons are financially supporting Farleigh, Felix’s snobby bi-racial cousin.
​
The way Saltburn played with the idea of the haves or have-nots failed. This brings me to my second issue with the film: what the story lacks.

Diving Deeper

While watching the film, there were some unanswered questions and themes that could have been explored fully. As stated earlier, with wealth being the object of the film, Saltburn reminds us of the absurdity of the wealthy while also admiring it. We learn in the film that Oliver isn't poor.

He comes from an upper-middle-class family, who never had an addiction problem, and his father is very much alive. Then why are you weaseling your way into a rich family and turning their world upside down? You’re well off. Maybe not Catton well off, but your family isn’t struggling to make a dollar the way you made the audience perceive you were. So, why the manipulation?
​
The film doesn’t explain Oliver’s backstory as to why he felt the need to break The Cattons. Did he know The Cattons or Felix? Did something happen in his past to warrant revenge, if that is what this is? It seems without explaining the motive, the film is okay with audiences making the assumption that even though Oliver lied, the story still holds up that there is an inequality between the rich and poor. But does it? 

We never see a disparity between the two classes. What we do see are comical, shallow characters against a lavish background. We feel envious of the grandiose lifestyle the Cattons are living. Is this how Saltburn wants to play the inequality? If disparity is your gripe, you have Farleigh. I know that would be an “of course, he is” sort of choice, but they placed him in the film. We don’t know the connection between his mother and the Cattons, but we know they are financially supporting him and Farleigh is loving the privilege that comes with it.​

At school, he acts as part of the elitist, but at the estate, he’s quiet and behind the scenes. He knows his place and is jealous of how easy it is for Oliver to be welcomed into the family when he’s still trying. I feel the film could’ve played more on the difference between the privileged and the not, but instead, these types of scenes came in like a pop-up video.

Its Not All Bad

The problems Saltburn has, there are postives. The cinematography was beautiful. The day scenes were sort of innocent and playful and hinted at Oliver’s “I love him” aspect of the story, whereas the night scenes were dark and broody and played on the unhealthy obsession and deranged mind of Oliver. The writing is quick and silly. This is a dark film, and so the humor follows that. You tend to feel a bit gulity for laughing because the bigger picture isn't funny, but the scene is. 

​The characters are interesting, at least when first introduced. Oliver is a curious character because he can switch from unhealthy to awkward instantaneously, but this quickly becomes trivial when each disturbing act he performs gets, bigger and bolder to the point where I get it. You’re sick in the head. Did you need to drink the bathwater that your crush masturbated in? Felix is this god-like creature and you want to know why he’s the object of Oliver’s infatuation, which seems to be only physical, which makes Felix dull. 

When we first meet The Cattons, they’re quirky. They sort of remind me of Wes Anderson characters minus the vibrant aesthetics. You can tell they have too much luxury and privilege but are not quite sure how to spend it. The Cattons are intrigued by anyone who’s not them and is quick to dispose of them when they grow weary, evidenced by “Poor Dear Pamela”. But eventually, you become bored just as they are with their existence. Their purpose is null other than comic relief at times.
​
One thing I will say is, this film does stay with you. Saltburn is another critically acclaimed film that Hollywood says audiences will love, but in reality, it will make audiences question what they just watched.