Did you watch Emerald Fenel's movie "Saltburn"?
It seems that Fennell is trying to tear down the old world and build a new one with his youthful energy.
With the new film "Saltburn" recently available on Amazon Prime, Fennell has once again divided critics and audiences using similar instruments such as inflation of style and moments of shock. The dramaturgy is a little tighter here, but the content is much more derivative, and the director makes a crucial mistake by revealing exactly what will happen already in the opening pseudo-elliptical narration and montage sequence.
The story looks a lot like a modernized version of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith sprinkled with a pinch of nostalgia from the author's youth. To begin with, the place of action is Oxford, 2006. The protagonist is freshman Oliver Quick (Barry Keogan) who, unlike most of his rich peers, is studying thanks to a scholarship. Oliver's "social capital" will increase after he finds himself in trouble with "alpha boy" Felix (Jacob Elordi) and is invited to spend the summer with him at the titular estate.
Clumsy about social codes, but intelligent and educated, Oliver quickly realizes the disturbed dynamics of relationships in the house and starts scheming, trying to give every one what is expected of him. And the matter quickly turns fatal.
The story, then, has been told many times, and Fennell doesn't bring in much news, except for one revelation that will set off a dynamic third act. Therefore, so that the film does not become a copy of a copy, Fennell reaches for what she is proven to be good at - garnishing. Thus, we have the aesthetics of saturated colors, which emphasize luxury, but also the narrow format of the image, which suggests that the title place, no matter how opulent it may be, is still essentially a prison. There are some intriguing fleeting observations about the last convulsions of "cool Britain", with plenty of music, but the director's main tactic remains pointless shocks, usually of a sexually perverse nature.
A similar function is also the unnecessary "recapitulation" at the end, "nailed" with a little more unmotivated nudity. In the end, we are left with an uneven film, which rarely innovates and mostly hits easy targets ("eat the rich" satire is becoming an increasingly popular "genre"). Fennel still doesn't follow the rules of the profession.
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Post By: Vanessa F.
