Saltburn | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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What are people saying about the movie Saltburn? ›

What to Know. Emerald Fennell's candy-coated and incisive Saltburn is a debauched jolt to the senses that will be invigorating for most. Saltburn is really intense and the cast does a terrific job, but if you're easily grossed out or offended, this probably isn't the movie for you.

While its debaucherous presentation of lavish lifestyles may prove a bit much or strange for certain audiences, its strengths lie in its performances, assertive craftsmanship, and its critical, if perhaps somewhat muddy, themes on avarice.

In conclusion, Emerald Fennell's 'Saltburn' is a film trying to provoke, though isn't as challenging nor original as its creator thinks it is. Though it is funny from time to time, and the first act is intriguing and suspenseful; the film is ultimately an uneven, predictable and derivative affair.

Plot. In late 2006, scholarship student Oliver Quick struggles to fit in at the University of Oxford because of his inexperience with upper-class manners. He befriends Felix Catton, an affluent and popular student who is sympathetic to Oliver's stories of his parents' substance abuse and mental health issues.

The BBC breathlessly reports that Saltburn is “filled with an abdundance of viral scenes” (there is another scene of Oliver performing oral sex on Felix's sister while she is menstruating, one of Oliver sexually threatening Felix's friend and of Oliver having sex with Felix's grave…).

“Saltburn” is about those gruesome human feelings of desire against the backdrop of a bright, sunny summer in England's most gorgeous castle, complete with a library and maze. The movie follows the first semester and summer of Oliver Quick, a student at Oxford who, like any other first-year, just wants to be seen.

With scenes of graphic sexual encounters as well as disturbing forms of manipulation and coercion, this can be too much for some viewers. Not only can the material be hard to watch but there are also long, graphic displays of nudity. However, the content's uncomfortable nature makes “Saltburn” the movie it is.

Even with audiences all saying similar things, that “Saltburn” is very good, but also very weird, critics have given this film a pretty average score with a 7/10 on iMDB, 70% on Rotten Tomatoes and 60% on Metacritic.

The real standouts of the film were Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike. Barry plays the unreliable narrator so well that you really don't know why he is doing the things he is doing until the very end. His maniacal actions are erratic and surprising, while showing a deep level of troubled emotion.

It's disappointing that “Saltburn” has plenty of weird — very memorable and fun weird — but falls short of making any interesting statements on its subject matter. “Saltburn” is beautifully shot — imaginative camera work and great lighting making for easily one of the most stylish films I saw in 2023.

What is the twist in Saltburn? ›

As Elspeth gets sick, she signs over Saltburn in Oliver's name. Elspeth eventually falls into a coma, and it is then revealed that Oliver has been narrating the events of the film from the room in which Elspeth lays in a hospital bed.

There are countless scenes that viewers will want to freeze-frame so that they can print them out and hang them in a gallery. The visuals are absolutely breathtaking. Saltburn is the most batsh*t crazy film you'll see this year. It's exquisitely shot, and Fennell directs the hell out of it.

The movie's ending inspired copycat memes, leading to charges that rich people proudly dancing around in their expensive houses have entirely missed the point of the film. It's a classic class-war battle: rich people being callow and poor people being bitter that rich people really don't care what they think.

And while there is a lot going on in “Saltburn” — a little “Brideshead Revisited,” a bit “Talented Mr. Ripley,” social commentary, a bit of camp, a bit of gothic romance — the buzz surrounding the movie has been largely generated by the shock value of certain scenes that push sexual taboos.

Overall, Saltburn is a provocative film, very successful in evoking the emotions and impressions it meant to evoke in viewers. It is also an undoubtedly well-researched, intellectual production. The film's thematic depth is far from superficial and full of nuisances and deep, subtle meanings.