Bonus Review: Saltburn

 

Movie: Saltburn

Running Time: 2:11

Nominated for: Nada

How I watched: AMC A List

When it had me: Emerald Fennell

When it lost me: It tried to push me away, nevertheless I persisted

What systems does it challenge: Generational Wealth

I was looking SO forward to the next Emerald Fennell film and I was not disappointed. Saltburn is a gorgeous, saturated, decadent, danger fest. It is making fun of both the wealthy and the wannabes. It embraces the danger of a group of people where literally anything might happen (a real personal fear of mine), teases us with a little mystery and freaks us out a fair amount along the way.

The performances are really amazing throughout the film. Barry Keoghan is dark and unpredictable, somehow both completely relatable and completely out of pocket at the same time. Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant take turns trying to steal the movie from a very solid ensemble cast.

It looks really great. Vibrant in a way that always feels like mahogany and velvet. A modern world that is somehow timeless, like wealth itself.

My only complaint is I knew right where the plot was going the whole time (to a degree at least). I wish it had surprised me just a little bit more. But Emerald makes up for it with scenes that are so impossible to foresee that you have to wake up and squirm a bit. Guys, it gets gross, ok?

Promising Young Woman felt like a perfect film to me and this one did not, exactly. But with time I felt that this movie stuck with more than almost any other this year. It grew in my estimation over time. I was so certain that it would get some acknowledgement from the Academy! Alas, it seems more popular with the Tiktok crowd for some Elordi reason.

I only decided to post this extra review because this is my actual favorite film of the year. I've seen it twice and can't wait to watch it again. I just can't get enough of the dark side of human nature, I guess.