Saltburn

[Elthamjohn]

I can’t decide what I thought of this.

It just seemed like exactly the sort of thing that I would enjoy.

Rosamund Pike and Richard E Grant were brilliant. It was entertaining. I enjoyed all the references to Waugh and The Go-Between and The Talented Mr Ripley…

… but I am fairly sure that I would not watch it again. How did you find it?

There are the obvious and oft-mentioned comparisons to Brideshead Revisited, but does anyone else think that the dynamic and arc between Oliver and Elspeth brought to mind Brenda and John Beaver in Waugh's A Handful of Dust?

Loved how this film morphed from Brideshead Revisited into Me Ripley! At one point, when he was told he'd never be part of Saltburn I wondered if he'd deliberately get the sister pregnant so he'd always be part of the family but er, it obviously went in a v different direction...

I was definitely gripped though not sure what I made of it overall. Agree with not needing the explanation at the end.

What’s the name of the house irl?

Watched it tonight and thought it was wonderful! Am surprised he didn't bump off Duncan as well. At the final funeral (of Elspeth) I thought I spotted someone who could have been Farleigh - I did think we'd see him again somehow.

Rosamund Pike was hilarious and it was lovely to see someone other than Keeley Hawes play that type of role (nothing against KH but there was a period of time when she was in everything!).
I thought Felix was a sweet character, even if he was as shallow as a puddle.

@ChanelQuiltedBag it's called Drayton House and it's in Northants. It's a private house so not open to the public

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/saltburn-mansion-house-real-drayton-b2473869.html

So many films now are dumbed down, with these banal explanations. I find it really tedious!

Yes what happened to Duncan???

Yes, it was nice to see Rosamund Pike instead of Keeley hawes or Joanna lumley as the posh mum of the manor house.

Thanks EmmaGrundy.

Agreed on Keeley Hawes.

I appreciate my knowledge of aristos is limited, but do they really have staff as severe as that in the 2000s? Whenever I have been in that company both the people and staff go overboard on manners? They may think you’re scum and you’ll never be one of them but they are superficially polite at least.

I've never been anywhere to stay with people that had staff , but if I did and they were like that bloke it would put me off for life ! It's bad enough if a waiter or waitress is a bit off with you for no reason , but he was a different level of nastiness

SPOILER

@SapphosRock - I did wonder about lack of autopsy on Felix but presume they did one and ruled drug overdose. Felix had been using that evening and presume that Oliver loaded the alcohol with drugs resulting in the overdose.
Now that I think about it I recall Oliver being sick in the maze- had he drunk some of the laced drink? I suppose this might support the idea that he hadn’t added poison. Was his intention to kill Felix at that point? If not, and after he died, was it then that his Machiavellian plan to acquire Saltburn develop rather than being his intention from very early on?

Watched it last night and I’d probably re watch with an eye on these angles but not in a rush.

In the flashback, you see Oliver go into the hedge and give himself the old “fingers for pudding” treatment before pushing the bottle into Felix’s chest. He later goes back and throws the bottle in the lake.
Re. an autopsy my guess would be that the family has enough influence and clout to ensure an autopsy wasn’t performed.

Is that a thing among that class, to avoid autopsies?
A very young and healthy male heir and they wouldn’t want to know the cause of death?
Did they think it would have been drugs especially given Oliver planting the seed at the breakfast table and implicating Farleigh too.

….and so would want to avoid an autopsy?

I guess in “film-land” the idea is that they’re above the law, in real life it’s doubtful, but who knows!
If films had to include all the boring usual life and death admin they’d be a whole lot less fun to watch.

I get that but it does stretch credulity that there was no mention of any investigation or enquiries and that Oliver would have gotten away with it so easily. He would have been one of the last persons to be seen with Felix.

I guess that’s why the point is often mentioned.

I enjoyed it.
Good to watch an escapist dark comedy without it being harrowing or a 3 hour intense epic (looking at you Nolan/Scorcese) or a mindless Marvel movie.

Not every movie has to be deep or serious or have an in depth message. Some can just be adult fun, well scripted and brilliantly acted.

Emerald Fennel has never presented this film as political or serious. The criticism of her in the press is both sexist (oh she’s not a serious director like the big boys) and reverse snobbism (she didn’t choose who she was born to).

I agree @dameofdilemma . It’s a quirky film. Looks gorgeous. I am so over these long worthy films directed by men.

I really enjoyed this movie.
Great soundtrack too.
Ive been thinking about it since I watched it a few days ago and I always think that’s a sign of a good film , when it sticks in your head.

I really enjoyed it. Thought if strange that Oliver was a scholarship boy- his parents looked quite middle class with a big house. I would've liked to know more about why he was NC with them.

I found it strange that the mum left everything to Oliver. Would it not have gone to a family heir?

You don’t have to be poor to get a scholarship, although they were acting like you did in the film. Also we don’t know that he actually was a scholarship boy, could have been part of the act.

I just watched it tonight and found this thread.
I really enjoyed it, although I had already read lots about it so no surprises, except that end scene. I was not prepared for a dick swinging along to Sophie Ellis Bextor!

But...I can't believe this hasn't been called out... I was so distracted by the fact that BK seemed to not even attempt to sound scouse. I kept expecting an explanation like he'd moved to Liverpool from ireland as a child, or when we meet his parents that they would be Irish. But no. Great actor, but can't do accents apparently.

He sounded very Scouse to me!

Really?
He sounded completely Irish to me

The Scouse accent is highly derivative of the Irish accent (Irish migrants arriving and settling in Liverpool) so they’re very closely linked.

I thought there were bits of Liverpool, but primarily Irish.