Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell had her debut feature Promising Young Woman (2020) basically be an attack of rape culture. Her narrative included an avenging angel who went after those guilty of sexual assault or those who allowed it by looking the other way. Her avenging angel was seemingly psychotic or obsessive, but she wasn't a murderer. Arguably, she had that potential, but she never crossed that line. The punishments or the tactics of the avenging angel were more clever or more searing. Her tactics were manipulative and a kind of fraud or lies, but her tactics weren't outright criminal or intending to be deadly.
It could be said that something similar is happening in this film. Fennell tackled in 2020 issues of misogyny or sexism or even toxic masculinity. If she's attacking anything here, she's possibly attacking classism or wealth inequality. There's an "Eat the Rich" vibe that's essentially at play here. There's similarly an avenging angel aspect that emerges. Except, it gets muddled because unlike Promising Young Woman, the vigilante in question here isn't seemingly psychotic, but, in fact actually psychotic. It feels like it might be a more twisted version of Brideshead Revisited (2008), which is about a student at the University of Oxford who befriends a young man who then invites the student to stay at the estate of his wealthy family where the student becomes ingratiated with that family.
Barry Keoghan (Eternals and Dunkirk) stars as Oliver Quick, a student at the University of Oxford, class of 2006. It's not clear if he's a freshman, but he does seem new to the university and doesn't know anyone there. He also doesn't appear to come from a wealthy family. He also seems to be socially awkward, not unlike the character that recently got him an Oscar nomination in The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). However, Keoghan's character in that 2022 Oscar-nominated film was socially awkward due to his lack of intelligence. Oliver is instead highly intelligent. He claims to have read 50 books in a short period of time and he can reference and has knowledge of Classical works and pieces of art.
He comes across as a bit of a nerd or geek who can't find common ground with the popular people at his school who seem more concerned with partying, getting drunk and having sex, than achieving any kind of higher education. One such student is Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi (Priscilla and Euphoria). Felix definitely comes across as a party boy. He's attending Oxford University, so he's likely educated to some degree, but we never see him in class. If nothing else, Felix can coast because he's the son of a wealthy couple from a possibly wealthy lineage that lives in a large estate, somewhere in the English countryside.
It's not clear where the family's wealth originated. It's likely inherited wealth that might allow the whole family to coast. When Felix invites Oliver to stay at that large estate called Saltburn, Oliver goes. When he arrives, Oliver immediately bears witness to the classism and condescension at play there. Fennell then appears to be critiquing the aristocracy of today or of recent history, as well as its corrupt nature. Yet, other than snobbish and supercilious comments, Fennell doesn't really paint a picture of corruption. In Promising Young Woman, she made the case as to the harm and damage that was being done, which justifies her vigilante's actions.
Her vigilante, if that's the proper term for Oliver, doesn't have that justification. Fennell instead rides on this idea that simply because they're wealthy, then that makes them targets and not just targets for accosting but also targets for brutality. Without that justification or showing the harm and damage the rich here have specifically done, the targeting that's done falls flat in terms of its impact. Essentially, going after the rich here is done merely for the sport. It could be Fennell also playing with the same themes or even plot mechanics of Parasite (2019), but even Bong Joon-ho did a better job of justifying the actions of his protagonists in their targeting of the rich.
Fennell does put up a smoke screen, which makes the motive of the protagonist unclear. Oliver says that he's in love with Felix. There's a suggestion that there is a bubbling and possibly, unrequited queer romance that's flowing underneath. Fennell could also be pursuing a more deeply felt, platonic love between two young men and exploring the intricacies of that. Again, this is just a smoke screen, although one could argue that Oliver's attraction could be real. That's essentially the hook that begins the film, but even that question ceases to matter by the time Oliver arrives at the estate. Yet, the film isn't lacking in homo-eroticism. There's definite leering at the tall, handsome beauty that is Felix. Yet, the leering is also upon the petite but sinewy body of Oliver, including a full-frontal dance sequence, which might underscore a kind of narcissism in the subtext as well.
Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language, disturbing content and drug use.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 7 mins.
In theaters.