“A thriller about a sexually obsessed nerd,” a black comedy or a cringe? What is the phenomenon of the film "Saltburn" and why is everyone talking about him

The film Emirald Fennell "Saltburn" Starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, it was a hit that received mixed reactions from viewers, but definitely left no one indifferent. The black comedy and psychological drama divided critics into two camps: some consider the young director’s project a fresh interpretation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” while others consider it a mediocre symbiosis of “Dreamers,” “Parasite,” “Call Me by Your Name.” and even "The Shining". In one of the official posters of the film there is also a clear reference to "Ecstasy" Gaspar Noe. Spltnk watched the film and figured out why everyone is talking about it so much.

The plot of "Saltburn" tells the story of a young man from an ordinary family, Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), who received a scholarship and entered Oxford University. Here he finds himself in an unusual environment in which connections and material things are of the greatest importance. Oliver makes friends with a popular student, the son of wealthy parents, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), and he soon invites his new acquaintance to spend the summer at his family estate, Saltburn. In an old baroque mansion, Quick is greeted by Felix's extraordinary family: glamorous mother Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike), who is afraid of everything ugly, eccentric father Sir James (Richard E. Grand), seductive sister Venice (Alison Oliver) and hangers-on who are accustomed to escapism. on the estate, living on the money of the head of the family - Felix's cousin Farley (Archie Madekwe) and Elzbeth's friend Pamela (Carey Mulligan). Oliver quickly finds a common language with his friend's family, and becomes obsessed with the luxurious life of British aristocrats.

The director and screenwriter of the film was actress Emirald Fennell, for whom the film became her second directorial work. For her debut project "Promising Girl" Emirald received an Oscar in the nomination for best screenplay. Produced by "Saltburn" was produced by Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap, and the main roles were played by: Barry Keoghan, whom viewers remembered for his roles in "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "The Banshee of Inisherina", for his role in the latter he received an Oscar nomination, the star of "Euphoria" and "Priscilla" Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, who played the role of Felix's mother, Richard E. Grand, who played the father, Carey Mulligan and others.

The film's cinematographer was Linus Sandgren, in demand in Hollywood, who received an Oscar. for his work in the film "La La Land" in 2017. It is known that the director considered Timothée Chalamet for the role of Oliver, and as inspiration for the creation of the film she named the films “A Clockwork Orange”, “Cruel Intentions” and "Mediator".

The film received wide resonance due to its explicit scenes, which viewers actively discussed on social networks, the effect of surprise and even disgust from what they saw after or during viewing. Although the film is rated R for "strong sexual content, nudity, strong language, violence and drug use," some still found it a bit too explicit. For example (beware, spoilers!), because of the scenes with water from the bathtub in which Felix masturbated, and which Oliver then drank, oral sex during menstruation and masturbation in a cemetery. Those who liked the film write that only those who are not familiar with the art of cinema and have not watched anything more significant than “Harry Potter” could receive surprise and disgust from what they saw. or Marvel movies. And, of course, there are jokes online that after the series “Idol”, which made even seasoned Cannes spit, nothing is scary anymore.

Some expressed public dissatisfaction because what they saw was not at all what they expected. Many videos in the style of “my emotions before watching Saltburn” have appeared on TikTok. and after", and X (formerly Twitter) was flooded with memes of Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. ]

Many noted that they went to the cinema to see a romantic comedy in the style of "Call Me by Your Name" with the Zoomer sex symbol Jacob Elordi, and in the end they got a thriller about a sexually obsessed nerd.

The "Saltburn" phenomenon became so viral that fans began actively buying merchandise with characters and scenes from the film. One of the most popular episodes - with the bathtub in which Jacob Elordi's character masturbated, became the inspiration for the creation of Jacob Elordi's Bath Water scented candle. The souvenir costs about $35, and the official description for it reads: “There is nothing better than the smell of a quality candle, especially when the smell is inspired by Jacob Elordi and what we think His Highness smells like.” The fragrance contains: pure cotton, sea salt, orchid, white sage, lavender, apple, cinnamon and vanilla.

But the candle is not so bad: one of the fans boasted to subscribers and a mug with a picture of... a drain hole at the bottom.

The film's soundtrack deserves special attention. The film takes place in 2006 and throughout the viewing the story is accompanied by songs by popular artists of the time The Killers, MGMT, Bloc Party, Girls Aloud and Sophie Alice-Bextor. Sophie Ellis-Bextor's song "Murder on the Dancefloor", to which a completely naked Oliver dances in the finale, has gone viral on TikTok. The 2001 track was so loved by zoomers that they began posting videos of dances in the style of the film, calling the phenomenon Salburn Dance. Sophie herself also supported the trend by posting a video of her dance.

Millennials also caught up, because the film almost literally “gave them back their 2007.”

Fashion in the film also plays an important role, along with the staging of shots and soundtracks. Costume designer Sophie Canale successfully conveyed the characters' personalities through clothing. For example, she dressed her nephew Felix, who is not very intelligent, in a T-shirt with the inscription “dumb him”, Chanel jewelry from 2007 went to Pamela, and an archival Valentino dress went to Elsbeth. Director Emirald Fennell also contributed to the characters' style and lent some of her clothes to the film, such as the Alexander McQueen jacket worn by Rosamund Pike's character Elsbeth. Throughout the film, Felix exchanges a classic Tommy Hilfiger polo for a Ralph Lauren jumper, and to create the images of his sister Venice, Sophie was inspired by the street style of celebrities of the early 2000s: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Kate Moss.

In the press and social networks "Saltburn" was also actively discussed: the acting found a response among film fans, but there were comparisons with “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

"The whole film seems to exist for its code. It's another music-video fantasy, but it's so cynical, literalist and literally brazen that I had a hard time watching it to the end. And it demands a lot from Keoghan, who could create a memorable, original character for Fennell. But real acting is not what Emirald needs. Oliver has a decent amount of strategic sex and Keoghan does some nude scenes, but the only pornographic thing in the film is the house,” writes Wesley Morris in The New York Times.

“I remember Barry Keoghan from the film “Banshee of Inisherina.” And after "Saltburn" and completely became his fan,” says Madonna Moore.

"The film evokes mixed feelings and resembles a mixture of several other films, such as "The Talented Mr. Ripley", "Parasite", "Call Me by Your Name", "Brideshead Revisited" Evelyn Waugh and even "Dangerous Liaisons" Choderlos de Laclos. To call it a masterpiece... probably not. It's averagely good, not here or there, but I definitely recommend it to fans of psychological trash. Well, those who are indifferent to Jacob Elordi will not be able to help but fall in love with him,” writes Burn Clear.

"I watched Saltburn, and I can say that Emerald Fennell is a new star in cinema. This is already the second picture, such good madness. Master of black comedies. I’m really looking forward to her next work,” notes the author of the “Cookies” channel.