Saltburn

Review

I finally watched Saltburn, 2023's favorite weird movie, and I'm proud to say that this isn't the weirdest movie I've watched this year. However, I am honestly shocked that a movie with obvious psychosexual themes like this one got put into theaters and became so popular at the height of criticism of nudity and sexual content within film. This movie is really good, it's a very uncomfortable watch but I think the discomfort sits really well on the audience as part of the viewing experience. I hope that this movie inspires people to become more interested in weird films and in the horror/thriller medium as a whole.

Saltburn is about two boys, Oliver and Felix, who are attending Oxford. Felix comes from generational wealth and literally lives in a castle when he's not in school while Oliver is a scholarship student who has had a rough life. When Oliver's father dies in an accident while he's drunk, Felix invites him to come spend the summer in his castle home, Saltburn. Throughout the movie Oliver has displayed an unhealthy attachmet to Felix and once they get to the castle it becomes clear that he wants to fully integrate himself into Felix's life and family. At the beginning of the third act, Felix realizes that Oliver has been lying about his family and financial situation this whole time and tries to distance himself from Oliver, but in retaliation, Oliver makes quick work of Felix and his sister killing them both and in the end sets himself up to be the inheritor of the castle and all their wealth after the father dies and he kills the mother. The movie ends with Oliver dancing naked in his newly inherited castle, revelling in the wealth he's acquired by destroying this family from the inside out.

First off, the actors in this movie did an absolutely amazing job, Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan, as the two leads, absolutely knocked it out of the park and had a really impressive showing in this movie. Allison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Rosamund Pike also really showed up for this movie in a really good way which makes the movie a really immersive experience as you are drawn into the world of Saltburn.

This movie overall, is just a really beautiful viewing experience. There's all these sprawling shots of Saltburn and of the grounds around it that are just lit so beautifully, it's really entrancing. There's a lot of really interesting shots, one of my favorites is when the family is in mourning and Duncan is left out in the rain to hold the umbrellas and when the shot is redone to include Oliver as part of the family, under the umbrella, after Venetia's passing.

Oliver is such a little bitch throughout the entire movie but at a certain point you really have to respect the grind because he puts in so much effort in order to solidify his place within the family and to ensure that his plan works out. At the beginning he insists that he wasn't in love with Felix but I think we all know that was a lie to save his ass once he realized infiltrating through Felix wasn't going to be an option and he had to get rid of him. You don't fuck somebodies grave just because you're best friends with them.

The psychosexual moments in this movie are definitely weird, as they should be. But this isn't like the pearl clutching moment that most people are claiming it is. I had a particular aversion to these scenes because I just can't deal with talking in sex scenes and there is so much uncomfortable conversation that you can't just ignore in these, it's less about the words being said and more about the talking in general.

Overall, I really liked Saltburn and I think it deserved to be the weird movie that made it big this year. It's worth a watch, at the very least to appreciate how pretty it is and the great performances throughout. I might watch it again but only if I'm showing it to someone else.