Saltburn (2023)

Behind its constantly evocative imagery and odd moments, Saltburn is a film that begs its viewers to be smarter. Not for the sake of the film, but for the sake of the viewers.

In the context of the story, Oliver Quick is always the smartest person in the room, always plotting the next step in his path of entitlement stemming from his overtly self-aware insecurities. The Cattons, who haven't lived lives where they needed to sharpen their senses, fall for Oliver's tricks easily with only Farleigh, the outsider of the family, being the only one questioning Oliver's behavior.

In the context of the film's consensus, I've noticed the criticisms are focused more on the style, the surface level of Saltburn, than the substance, an issue that also plagued Fennell's Promising Young Woman. From both sides of praising and dunking on Saltburn, its shock value and imagery are the key talking points, overlooking the symbolism and themes intentionally crafted. On the surface it looks like a story about class, but it's actually about the dangers of refusing to challenge your view of the world and the people around you.

Saltburn is one of those films where, not even 15 minutes in, I wanted to go through it shot-by-shot to explain how I interpreted each one and the story elements that supported my interpretations. For example, I interpreted this prism shot as symbolizing Oliver trying to decide what persona he should portray to Felix.

I'm not calling anyone stupid for hating this movie, nor am I calling anyone stupid for liking this movie purely for its shock value or beautiful cinematography. I'm just stating what I got out of it, and imploring those on the fence of liking the film to give it another go from a different perspective. It's something I always try to encourage people whenever we discuss films: Don't critique the style, critique the substance.

If you don't like the substance, that's okay. What matters is you challenging yourself to look beyond the surface.

5/5