Saltburn | Movie Review by Arnold Wayne Jones
Sick Burn
Saltburn Wallows in the Inevitability of Its Own Twisted Vision of the World
Review by Arnold Wayne Jones
Emerald Fennell has only written and directed two feature films, but that’s enough for her to carve out a distinctive style… but also enough to become slightly predictable. She seems to take Aristotle’s dictum – that the best stories’ endings are both surprising and inevitable – profoundly to heart. In her acclaimed debut, Promising Young Woman, she told the story of Cassandra (Carey Mulligan), a woman who turns past trauma into a mission to seek vengeance against any men who exploit or assault women. Cassandra isn’t a murderer (her revenge is more of the cautionary “taste of your own medicine” variety) but we know from the start she’ll save the best for a gloriously over-the-top last – that’s the”inevitable” part. (Fennell even named her after the Greek mythological seer, who prophesied the future even though nobody ever believed her.) What we are surprised by (spoiler alert here) is that Cassandra’s plan goes off course and she herself ends up murdered well before the denouement – that’s the “surprise.” Delicious ending? Sure. But also a little unsatisfying – a bittersweet dessert, like a dark chocolate torte or lemon pie.
Her latest, Saltburn, is more sure-footed directorially, but like PYM, the ending is not a great surprise, though the journey often can be.
Fennell has shifted her focus from a disturbed woman to an even younger, even more disturbed man. The great, unsettling Barry Keoghan plays Oliver Quick, a scholarship-kid attending Oxford University, surrounded by nothing but spoiled rich kids who can’t resist maximizing their dickishness whenever he’s near them It’s not enough that they are privileged brats who could afford to show a little grace; they’re also attractive and clever and cool, and Oliver longs to be included in their world. Like an abused mutt, he slowly ingratiates himself to the athletic ringleader, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Felix is gorgeous and charismatic but also a softie, and he becomes curious about this kid from the other side of the tracks. By social osmosis, Oliver is begrudgingly accepted into the fold by everyone except Farleigh (Archie Madekwe), himself a cash-poor relation of Felix, dependent in part on his family’s largesse. Oliver wheedles an invitation to Felix’s family estate, named Saltburn, for the summer, and there the sweet, unsuspecting naif mounts his grand scheme to be welcomed into class of the landed gentry.
None of this is unexpected – we suspect from the opening moments (the story is narrated by Oliver in flashback) that he had, and likely achieved, his master plan of social climbing. Many of the smaller twists along the way – specifically, Oliver’s life story predictably reveals itself as intentionally constructed, and not as dire as he pretends – don’t really catch us off guard, as Fennell’s track record or projecting her twists clues us in. And yet, the script does take some wild swings, basically by leap-frogging around plot points – even developments the audience may anticipate come at unexpected moments. (Calling the antihero lead Oliver Quick is a not-too-subtle mashup of Oliver Twist and his own improvisational machinations.) Ultimately, virtually every character ends up more or less where we would have imagined they would. But oh how fun it is getting there.
Fennell’s acid-tongued take on British society is so specific, it matters little that it might not be super fresh and inventive. She pulls no punches.
The first thing we notice is her decision to shoot the film in Academy ratio instead of widescreen, giving it the voyeuristic quality of a hi-def home movie. Then the tight editing, lavish production design and rich musical score elevate the proceedings.
Then, of course, there’s the dialogue, which crackles with secondary, even tertiary layers in the character-driven portrait of class differences. Unspoken tensions and rivalries lurk under the battle between the haves and have-nots. Throwaway lines end up being some of the smartest bits, and darkly funny meta commentary.
The casting, and the performances she extracts from everyone, push Saltburn from predictable social satire to compelling art film. Keoghan has only been around a half-dozen years, but since his breakout role in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and continuing through The Batman and The Banshees of Inisherin, he’s proven himself a resourceful and edgy character actor whose protean face both hides and reveals a tremendous amount of emotional depth. The Catton clan (Elordi, mom Rosamund Pike, dad Richard E. Grant, sister Alison Oliver) all function as “types” – rungs in Oliver’s ladder of success – but they deliver the goods. The homoerotic undercurrent suffuses the entire film with a dangerous, outsidery vibe.
Fennell may rely on a smallish bag of tricks to tell her tales, but Saltburn shows she’s talented enough to turn those gimmicks into something unusual in cinema today – an outcome that is as inevitable as it is surprising.
FIRE ISLAND | AVAILABLE ON HULU JUNE 3
Rising comedy star and screenwriter Joel Kim Booster (The Other Two, Big Mouth) and Emmy® Award-nominated SNL favorite Bowen Yang partner for a wildly original romantic comedy—FIRE ISLAND. Set in the iconic Pines, the film is an unapologetic, modern day romantic comedy showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by the timeless pursuits from Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, the story centers around two best friends (Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang) who set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé and their cadre of eclectic friends.
Searchlight Pictures presents a Hulu Original FIRE ISLAND, directed by Andrew Ahn, written by Joel Kim Booster. The film stars Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, Torian Miller, Nick Adams, Zane Phillips, Michael Graceffa, Aidan Wharton, Peter Smith, Bradley Gibson and Margaret Cho. The creative team includes producers John Hodges, Tony Hernandez, Brooke Posch, director of photography Felipe Vara de Rey, production designer Katie Hickman, costume designer David Tabbert, and film editor Brian A. Kates.
(From L-R): Margaret Cho, Tomas Matos, Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster, and Matt Rogers in the film FIRE ISLAND. Photo by Jeong Park. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved
Noah (Booster) is happily, defiantly single. Cash might be hard to come by, and sure, his New York apartment might be cramped and disorganized, but Noah delights in his freewheeling independent lifestyle. Every summer, he and his boys, including BFF Howie (Yang), and their friends Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomás Matos) and Max (Torian Miller), head to FIRE ISLAND for a week of non-stop partying and hooking up with hot guys. After arriving at the house on Tuna Walk owned by their friend Erin (Margaret Cho) where the group has always stayed, they’re greeted with unsettling news: Erin has run into financial trouble and will soon be forced to sell the vacation house they considered a second home.
“Fire Island is such a specific place,” says director by Andrew Ahn. “When I got there for the first time, I just was like a sponge trying to soak it all in and I was struck by how much of a queer enclave it is.”
Determined to make what might be their last summer together in Fire Island especially memorable, Noah resolves to help lovelorn Howie find the man, or men, of his dreams. To prove just how serious he takes his mission, Noah promises Howie that he will remain abstinent until he succeeds (yeah, right). The week gets off to a promising start after Howie meets charming doctor Charlie (James Scully), and the two quickly hit it off. But the members of Charlie’s wealthy, accomplished social circle vacationing at their house on Ocean Walk seem to look down on Noah, Howie and their crew. The devastatingly handsome Will (Conrad Ricamora) seems especially disapproving and condescending; yet for some infuriating reason, Noah can’t seem to stop thinking about him.
(From L-R): Matt Rogers, Bowen Yang and Tomas Matos Photo by Jeong Park. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved
Amid a classic Fire Island week fueled by underwear parties, dance challenges, karaoke performances, and general debauchery, the gang bickers and banters over potential romantic entanglements. Howie longs for a monogamous partnership like something out of a fairy tale, or at least a 1980s John Cusack movie and Noah can’t imagine ever devoting his life to only one person. As the days roll by, they both find themselves in surprising circumstances and unexpected emotions that just might shape the course of the rest of their lives. Adds producer Brooke Posch, “It’s about identity and being comfortable in your skin. I think the family part is definitely just having people around you who support who you truly are. Good and bad.”
Comments producer John Hodges, “The structure of the story and the narrative that Joel created is very finite. There is just such beautiful arcs between everything, including the exploration of family, and chosen family.”
Directed by Andrew Ahn (Spa Night, Driveways) from a script by Joel Kim Booster (Sunnyside), Searchlight Pictures presents FIRE ISLAND, premiering on Hulu June 3, 2022.
(From L-R): Torian Miller, Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, Tomas Matos and Joel Kim Booster in the film FIRE ISLAND. Photo by Jeong Park. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved
Fire Island | Official Trailer | Hulu