Daughter of a jewelry designer born into the peaks of British high society, Emerald Fennell made a career transition from acting to writing and directing with her television series “Killing Eve” and has since received many accolades and awards and great recognition for her work. Fennell’s sophomore project “Saltburn” is a film that aims to provoke, much like her debut “Promising Young Woman.” The latter film, for which Fennell received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay – one of the more puzzling decisions on behalf of the Academy in a history of many puzzling decisions – was sold as a poppy, high-brow feminist take on the rape-revenge film. However, in reality, it was a film composed of empty platitudes and pulled punches, with little to say about its subject matter.
“Saltburn’s” attempts at provocation are similarly vapid and lame. It’s clear that in every part of the filmmaking process, Fennell was desperately trying to cater to sexual content rather than tell a complete story. In addition, the film’s lack of structure commends a goldfish-level attention span. The film feels specifically designed and marketed for scenes to be screencapped and shared on X, or cut down so you can catch a glimpse of it on Instagram reels.
Along with the flimsy class commentary and the misguided attempts to be “edgy,” it should be remembered that the film fundamentally doesn’t work on any level, even if you choose to look at it as a simple, fun, erotic thriller. The horrid writing renders any decent performance in the film pretty much worthless.
Barry Keoghan, one of the most electrifying performers working today, puts his everything into the role, but the character lacks any real sort of definition. Nearly every character in the film is played by a seasoned actor with a repertoire of great work, but the poor writing shows through even the best of the acting, and the characters slowly devolve into parodies of themselves. Jacob Elordi is maybe the only one to make something of the material and plays the only character in the film that feels like a real human being rather than a cartoon character.
The film is superficially pretty, but compositionally never does anything particularly interesting. The choice to present it in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio is another empty decision that stinks of desperation. Another cheap trick to make you think that there must be something artistic going on here, because the frame would otherwise be the normal size!
Despite my harsh commentary, “Saltburn” is far from the worst film ever made and even has glimpses of interesting narrative and stylistic ideas. However, the film is intensely disingenuous and artificial and boasts a sense of eminence that is just blood boiling. Fennell seems simultaneously insecure about her work and smug about its greatness. It seems that she wants to exploit and provoke, but whenever she is at the cusp of making any real statement, she pulls back, pandering to an audience whose admiration she is desperate for.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
