Saltburn Reviewed

Saltburn Reviewed: 4.5/5 💫🩸 

Blood on the walls. Outlandish cult rituals. Time-traveling laundromat owners. A24 is no stranger to weird, grotesque, and gritty plot lines that defy the limits set by modern media cliches. However, despite the mass successes that the production company have acquired over the past year, Saltburn, MGM was certainly not on most avid moviegoers’ bingo cards as the one to beat. In all its disgustingly aesthetic glory though, Emerald Fennell’s mere second debut to the big screen has sent shockwaves across the globe: literally. 

Undeniably brilliant performances by A24 veteran Jacob Elordi and the cult-followed Barry Keoghan truly brought to life the eerily sinister nature of the film. Keoghan portrayed a pitiable, yet terrifying character that left audiences questioning the reliability of the narration of the story. This movie is an extremely uncomfortable watch, and Keoghan’s natural ability to shapeshift into a deceptive, disturbing human being. Elordi plays into this, embodying the motifs of obsession, lust, and material wealth. A stacked supporting cast also proved that its high time directors begin casting fresh talent rather than the nepotism that lingers in the Hollywood forum.

The plot of the movie, a controversial touch-and-go horror narrative that left many critics baffled, definitely isn’t black and white like much of the internet is making it out to be. Some scenes are extremely outlandish and gory (which, for those who are complaining, what did you expect from director Emerald Fennell?), which makes for a squirmish audience. I found these odd plot elements to be a very unique touch that individualizes the film from its A24 counterparts, but they don’t excuse the absolute mess that was the third act. The visual aesthetic brought forth by the 35mm perspective, however, completely makes up for this lack of cohesion in the writing. Every single shot told a story in spite of the poor attempt at answering the unanswerable. 

Saltburn is a “you won’t believe it until you see it” type of film, as TikTok and Instagram alike have proven to us. As a final note, I believe this psychothriller is a step in the right direction for films of its nature. From its sneakily brilliant marketing, to a stellar cast and absolutely insane and memorable scenes, Saltburn will forever be ingrained into my mind: for better or for worse. a