Barry Keoghan to play Oliver Quick in Saltburn
When it comes to entertainment and culture, corporate media and many multi-million dollar studios try to make the public envious of the rich and famous. We are bombarded with gossip stories about their marriages, divorces, feuds, affairs, scandals, and latest luxury purchases. We are shown movies that often glamorize this lifestyle and its pursuits. We are fed the lie that the wealthy elite are inherently more dynamic because they are rich, and that their achievements are some kind of illusion to be admired and perhaps resented. Saltburn is the latest film to indulge in this theme. At first glance, the film looks like it's trying to tell an intriguing story about wealth, jealousy, sex, and misfortune. But the result is an unconvincing protagonist who's afloat in a sea of boring rich people behaving badly.
Emerald Fennell wrote, directed and co-produced the film. Saltburn The story is set in 2006 (for no particular reason) and focuses on a young man named Oliver Quick who seems like a scholarship student at Oxford University. He comes from a wealthy family and is surrounded by many students who look down on him. Oliver soon meets the popular, rich and handsome Felix, with whom he becomes friends and infatuated. Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer with him and his eccentric family at their vast, luxurious mansion called Saltburn. From there, turmoil ensues as Oliver is thrown into the world of the super-rich and aloof, perhaps with his own ulterior motives.
Now, I described Felix's family as eccentric because much of the trailer and advertising for this film is trying to make you, the future viewer, believe that you are in for a wild ride with rich people unlike anything you've ever experienced before. But you've probably been there before. Rich people who seem detached from the everyday struggles, who live in posh surroundings, and who have a melodramatic, “wacky” view of the world are a well-used and clichéd trope in many stories. Sometimes, the rich people are fictional characters. Other times, they are based on monarchies imposed in popular culture. Unfortunately, Saltburn It adds nothing new to this trope and it feels much the same way – not even the wonderfully talented Rosamund Pike as Felix's mother, Mrs. Elspeth Catton, can salvage this aspect of the film, but she tries to do so and gives a nuanced and convincing performance.
This failure would have been less noticeable if the main character, Oliver, had been more working class and powerful enough to carry much of the focus and momentum of the story. This character is not. Instead, he feels like a mysterious figure who floats around the Catton household, changing his personality depending on the situation. His motivations become more clear as the film progresses, but there isn't much mystery given that they play this character from start to finish. Not that Oliver needs to be likable, but the audience does need to feel a strong connection to at least one character's journey in the film, especially one who gets the majority of the screen time.
where Saltburnthere is an attempt to convey a message about wealth and corruption. The idea is that although the Catton family is wealthy, they should not be praised because they have problems and are victims of manipulation, or at least a series of unfortunate events. It is suggested to say that anyone, regardless of background, is capable of doing evil things and that jealousy is dangerous. But who exactly is this message aimed at? Do working-class people need to be taught the humanity of the wealthy? Is it worth a 2 hour 21 minute movie?
The film is littered with outlandish sexual scenes. If these scenes had any purpose other than to distract the audience from the hollow storyline, it wouldn't have been so problematic. Some of these scenes may have been meant to show the darker side of the characters, but equating unconventional sexual proclivities with moral depravity seems like a dangerous path to walk. After the end credits roll, many audience members will leave the cinema with the sexual scenes still on their minds. Not because these scenes are truly outstanding, but because they are perhaps the most exciting thing to happen in the film.
Here are some highlights to consider when watching: SaltburnBut there are also some well-crafted moments of dark humor, most of which involve Rosamund Pike, who is the standout in the film, closely followed by Alison Oliver as Felix's sister, Venicia Catton. Venicia is a tragic, raw character, but in another world or with a better script, she could have been an interesting protagonist.
Photography Techniques Saltburn is beautiful, and the scenes around the estate have the ethereal aesthetic of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but other films have done a better job of letting the land take on a personality of its own, as this one attempts. SpencerAnother film about wealthy people living in an isolated world.
whole, Saltburn The film tries to convey a deeper meaning but fails. Taken at face value, it comes across as a cheesy melodrama focusing on the rich. But if that's the case, other films are more worthy of your time and money.
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