Spoilers for “Saltburn” are mentioned in this article.
“Saltburn” is dominating conversations on social media sites like TikTok and X in recent weeks due to the film’s eccentricity and several scandalous scenes which are at the center of online debate. Although months have passed since the November release of director Emerald Fennell‘s black comedy, “Saltburn,” it has continued to gain traction since joining the streaming platform Amazon Prime on Dec. 22.
In the face of the film’s virality, students provided their reviews and revealed their favorite scenes, characters and general takeaways from “Saltburn.”
The film takes place in 2006 U.K. — Oxford University student Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, feels ordinary in comparison to his collegemate, the wealthy Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi.
When Oliver and Felix become friends, Oliver claims to have lost a close family member immediately before summer; in response, Felix invites him to stay at his family estate over break. A member of the elite Catton family, Felix introduces Oliver to a world of aristocracy and excess that few people experience while Oliver grows more obsessed with Felix and the Cattons’ way of life.
Senior Abbey Avery watched the film over the winter break after she said she noticed the online commotion surrounding the film and heard actor Jacob Elordi stars as a main character. Avery said she typically gravitates toward films similar to “Saltburn” since they tend to be unpredictable and throw viewers for a loop.
“I really love the film’s grandiose cinematography and the super gothic setting,” Avery said. “I feel like the fatal foreshadowing provides viewers with such powerful shock factor.”
While Avery felt drawn in by Fennell’s eccentric movie concerning class and privilege, she felt curious as to why the film had gained such popularity and a cult following online.
Junior Sofia Reyes said she heard lots of buzz surrounding the film and wanted to see what it was about. Later, she watched the film with her friends over winter break.
“I really loved the visuals and production design as well as the fashion and set decor, which was just beautiful,” Reyes said.
Junior Jordan Paran streamed the film multiple times over winter break and said she watched “Saltburn” after scrolling past conversations on social media about several of the film’s scandalous scenes. Some of these scenes involve sexuality, bodily fluids and nudity; despite these elements, Paran enjoyed the film’s symbolism and its many easter eggs.
“I liked the modern English vibe of the film,” Paran said. “I also really enjoyed the cinematography and aesthetics and how the characters were portrayed.”
Some students may have started watching the film for its starring actors but later found themselves charmed by the story’s characters.
Alison Oliver’s character Venetia created a lasting impression, Paran said. The moody sister to Felix, Venetia is cold to the world and her family but opens up to outsider Oliver when he arrives at the estate.
Paran said she felt struck by one of the later scenes in the film between Venetia and Oliver when the two reflect on the death of Felix and share a tense moment. After all that has happened since Oliver arrived at the Saltburn estate, Venetia expresses her distrust of Oliver once she realizes his true, selfish intentions at the exclusive estate.
“The emotional intensity of that scene just seemed very real, as if it wasn’t a movie at all,” Paran said. “The acting was so raw and genuine — I loved it.”
The film includes several standout scenes that have inspired conversation regarding the film’s intentions, whether that be Oliver’s nauseating bathtub scene in which he drinks Felix’s dirty bathtub water. Similarly, the film features a shockingly carnal graveyard scene in which Oliver thrusts his naked body atop a fresh grave.
As such, each scene has garnered questionable responses from audience members. Paran said the graveyard scene stuck out to her most, and she never would have guessed the direction Fennell was going during that segment.
“It was shocking; it was disturbing, but I couldn’t turn away,” Paran said. “I kept watching even though I was so utterly appalled, and just seeing how obsessed he [Oliver] was, you just couldn’t guess what he was gonna do next.”
Reyes said she felt similarly disturbed by the film’s depictions of dangerous infatuation whereas others felt struck by the film’s emotional threshold.
“Oliver’s obsession with integrating himself into high society forces him into some pretty questionable scenarios where it’s almost like he’s sucking the life out of the Catton family from the inside out,” Reyes said.
Avery said she felt most affected by the scenes following Felix’s death and the Catton parents’ emotionally-detached responses to their son’s demise.
“You learn through the movie that their family is always shoving their problems under the rug,” Avery said. “I was really moved because you can tell that his father wants to feel his son’s death, but he doesn’t know how [to] after pretending like their problems don’t exist for so long.”
As students reflected on the advice they would pose to people who have yet to watch the film, most said the film is difficult to provide context for, and it is best to go into it blindly.
Reyes said viewers should be receptive to peculiar plots like those in “Saltburn” because it makes for better entertainment.
“Be open to the craziness,” Reyes said. “It’s a lot, but it honestly serves as an emotionally strong film that people should go out and see.”
On the other hand, Avery said anyone unfamiliar with A24 films or other indie-style movies should brace themselves for the raunchiness and gore present throughout “Saltburn.”
“I’ve recommended this movie to all of my friends, and something I tell them every time is to watch it alone,” Avery said. “Unless you have a friend that you are really, super close with and can handle watching it without feeling major embarrassment, I would watch it by yourself.”
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Email Emma Ibarra: emma.ibarra@pepperdine.edu
