Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is an enigma. It’s 2006, and Oliver’s first day at Oxford University commences without any friends, without any family, and without any past. But something in his laser stare speaks louder than words ever could. Sporting off-the-rack polos, ill-fitting pants, and wheeling carry-on luggage bumping this way and that over the cobblestones, Oliver doesn’t look or behave like anyone else here. And that he is forcefully befriended by a socially awkward math whiz who seems more alone than Oliver is no surprise.

Oliver has his eye on Felix (Jacob Elordi), the super-hunky rich kid who landed his spot at Oxford thanks to his family title and estate, Saltburn. Felix is a nice guy—knows how good he looks, is casually aware of how rich he is—but doesn’t seem to care that Oliver isn’t. Felix likes Ollie, as he calls him, and when tragedy befalls Oliver, Felix proposes he come and spend the summer at Saltburn.

Saltburn is one of those estates where the home is a museum people happen to live in—there’s more history in these hallways than in any of Oliver’s books—and the grounds are so expansive they contain a swimming hole, hedge maze, grassy knoll, and whatever else the narrative requires. There are gardens and steps and statues and a whole lot of other stuff that make Saltburn the perfect setting for tomfoolery.

Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn is a two-hour movie with an entertaining hour and a half followed by a formulaic climax and a reveal that stretches the probability so thin it snaps. Oddly enough, it’s the movie’s finale that might be the most interesting aspect of the narrative: Oliver, stark nude, dancing to Sophie Ellis-Bexter’s “Murder on the Dance Floor” through the empty rooms of Saltburn. Keoghan, fully committed, contorts and twists his body into poses similar to the marble statues lining the halls while Fennel and cinematographer Linus Sandgren bathe the spaces in warm and expressionistic lighting. It’s a visual tour de force that Saltburn doesn’t fully earn.

Back to the story: Oliver spends his summer in Saltburn, pals around with Felix, strikes up a sexual tug of war with the sister (Sadie Soverall), gets into a pissing match with the cousin (Archie Madekwe), enchants the mother (Rosamund Pike), and steers clear of the father (Richard E. Grant). Everyone is a caricature in the best way and as deep as a puddle in the worst way. Even Felix loses his luster once he sets foot in Saltburn. Only Oliver retains dimension. Fennel is tipping her hand.

Playing in the same sandbox as Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels—with a touch of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema—Fennel does her story no favors by telegraphing Oliver’s untethered morals. And when a series of quick flashbacks reveal that the happenings at Saltburn are that of intention and not coincidence, plausibility flies right out the window. Not that Fennel is going for such a construction, but an attempt certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Saltburn (2023)
Written and directed by Emerald Fennell
Produced by Emerald Fennell, Josey McNamara, Margot Robbie
Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Archie Madekwe, Sadie Soverall, Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan
MGM, Rated R, Running time 127 minutes, Opens Nov. 17, 2023

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