“Saltburn” is a movie that a million things could be said about. The film follows freshman Oliver at Oxford University (Barry Keoghan) as he befriends a rich classmate named Felix (Jacob Elordi) and is eventually invited to stay at his gothic mansion Saltburn over the summer.
The movie lingers for an uncomfortable amount of time at Oxford, where it feels like simultaneously too much and too little time is spent there. The lack of screen time makes viewers wish they had explored more of the characters’ lives there but it ends up just prolonging the real meat of the film at Saltburn.
At the beginning of the summer, Oliver meets Felix’s family, including his mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) and his sister Venetia (Alison Oliver). The introduction of Saltburn also means the introduction of an onslaught of shenanigans and bizarre happenings that all the characters indulge in there. Weird and freaky sex happens on the regular at Saltburn, where all the characters spy on each other and tensions boil under the surface of every interaction.
All of this fluff in the middle of the film amounts to nothing except shock at the lives of these rich 20-somethings. The last 30 minutes of the film is a rushed explanation of the characters’ actions paired with depthless criticism about systems of wealth. The ending feels like an entirely different movie from what came before it, with character motives seemingly pulled out of thin air. While the stylized effect and beautiful shots make it an easy watch, any interesting commentary or emotional intelligence is lost for the sparkly facade.
That being said, the performances shine in this movie, especially Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. Both do as much as they possibly can with the characters given to them and they shine on screen. As a music video, “Saltburn” excels, but as a full-length film that promises viewers more than what they get, it falls flat on its face. You’re better off listening to the soundtrack on Spotify and saving yourself 15 bucks and two hours at the theaters.
