nice to see someone actually seeing that the film wasn't about "eat the rich" but more about middle class envy and how glorifying and deserpately wanting to be upper class can drive one insane. really liked the points about their motivations from the start, didn't really know why I didn't buy the Oliver reveal until right now.
I knew something was up with him the minute he stood there watching his friend masturbate and then drank his bath water lol. There were many signs leading up to the reveal that something was off about Oliver. They only make him seem innocent in like the first 30 minutes of the movie and then he starts acting weird
@karinalumen9722 I think in the UK there's a real difference in class vs wealth. From my memory while shooting the film, the cattons weren't considered obscenely wealthy, more just coming from old money - basically their family had owned that estate for hundreds of years. I think The Gentlemen touches on this as well, there's a lot of old-money upper class families that actually have not that much (still millions) liquid money
I thought this was the message too until the end Making Oliver some middle class psychopath obsessed with wealth kind of deflated the movie and was ironically kind of predictable I was hoping the movie would be about Oliver desperately embedding himself into Felix’s family because being rich is obviously fantastic, and becoming consumed by it and stealing it for himself, only to become the target of other parasites seeking his quality of life
If the director hasn't find her footing in writing a well though story from start to the end but knows how to film in an interesting and beautiful way. Why not co-write with other people until she gains a little experience
@@Gandalfthegoldenbird In my opinion, Promising Young Woman is a good movie. The plot is simple, but it works and serves the movie's theme well. This is not the case with Saltburn.
@@Gandalfthegoldenbird Especially considering everyone who worked on the movie, Emerald Fennell herself included that the only reason that movie won an oscar was because of the pandemic since the movie came out right before lockdown so every other that was supposed to come out that year was delayed
Excellent analysis, even better than the first. I think another key difference regards the characters' desired end game. Ripley seeks total transformation by permanently escaping into a completely false identity - Becoming. Whereas in Saltburn the end game is left (likely purposefully) more vague, closer to observation into another world by immersion - Exploring.
there is substance, but it’s like… ignorant substance that feels mostly done to create a tweetable twist moment. like yes, middle class envy, but also it doesn’t really earn that theme because it doesn’t establish middle class aspect very well. Instead it comes across as “those villainous poors don’t know their place and are scheming against us, DEI admissions are actually fraudsters.”
I felt Saltburn said nothing new. It was also unable to say anything old in an original way. Ripley was made by folk who understood the source material and presented it in an original and stunning way.
Salt burn is a movie that you’re excited as you watch for the great reveal, and in the last 20 minutes you realize you’re in the last 20 minutes of this movie and it won’t actually go where you’ve been hoping it will, and the movie really will just end
Great video- the editing is genuinely top tier! I similarly think Saltburn was just a strange attempt at cultivating a profound, thought-provoking societal commentary. But- in line with modernity- the director felt the need to throw in a load of absurd 'gotcha' moments to grab the viewers attention. This just made it a confusing mess really. Great analysis anyway!
you're spot on - in a strange juxtaposition, the overuse of meme moments and attempts at virality present in the movie *perfectly* reflect the actual hyper-saturation in todays modern media, although I highly doubt it was intentional.
Totally agree with your analysis! Between All of Us Strangers and Ripley, I've been so impressed over the past year with Andrew Scott, who I didn't really know much about before. He's incredibly talented. I'm really looking forward to whatever he does next.
Emerald Fennell, seems to me as a very insecure filmmaker. In her first film Promising Young Women, it started great, until the ending absolutely ruined it for me. The ending seemed as if she realised that the film she was making was heading towards a bleak ending, so she hamfisted in an ending that I felt went completely against what was the essence of the story. Instead of facing the ending the story was meant to have, she wanted to make one she was more comfortable doing, but in the end crippled the film overall. Saltburn was Fennell trying to write a provoking societal commentary, but instead, probably becoming insecure about portraying the experience of class and sexuality, she writes a predictable mystery where she confuses controversy and provocation with complexity. Your story isn't complex because you have gay characters or a bunch of weird transgressive sexual acts. The prior is so-what, the latter is just forced.
Promise young woman is a subversion of the tropes of the "Vengeful Women" genre from the very first moment of the film, the film clearly subverts viewers' expectations regarding these narrative tropes. The ending is completely consistent with what has been presented throughout the film. Saltburn was already clearly a satire, which for some worked and for others it didn't.
To me the Oliver’s motives make perfect sense, if you’re always on the edge of something. If you’re not “well adjusted” (noting that Oliver is 17-20) you’ll do anything to have what you want. It’s like being teased your whole life. I guarantee you Oliver’s whole life he’s been wealth adjacent. That will literally drive you insane if you perceive it to be the reason people treat you differently.
The moment I saw the little rodent man dancing naked around that mansion, I was so put off by what little the movie had to say that I had to mentally detox lol
I think Saltburn is about mimetic desire, wanting what others possess, wealth, status, and power...the film is not just a critic to rich people. Venetia’s tells Oliver at the end of the movie, that she got it wrong, that he is a moth actually. A moth mindlessly consumes everything in its path, driven by its attraction to the light. Oliver devours everything in his pursuit of Felix’s life, in admiration, envy, and also self-destruction. it’s really about Oliver’s journey. I loved saultburn, i agree they put a lot of scenes just for shock value (like the grave scene) but overall i love it.
Yes, the main thing in salt burn is the maze or the figure within the maze, which is minotuar from greek mythology, who is the meaning of desire, and the things we would do just for something which won't last. I understand how people can think it's a sort of poor vs rich film, but it's really not. That's why in the start it goes 'I didn't love him' then 'I did love him' because often people mistake desire for love or most people who do feel desire will define it as true love
and I sort of feel like the 'only for shock scenes' are rather more of a meaning to how deprive and insane we can go just to feel like something or someone, because with the grave screen or bath screen for example it was more of wanting to be close as he could to felix because he literally wanted to be felix and that's why the dance scene happened it was supposed to signify the freedom from felix and how everything is now his
a wonderful and well-made video, perfectly succinct too!! haven’t had the fortune to watch Ripley yet but the mentions of Caravaggio’s art makes me think of the use of lighting/shadows in NBC’s Hannibal, which I really recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet!!
I remember when ripley on Netflix came out and I’ve never heard of any of the old stories. But then I watched Saltburn but immediately after I watched it I felt like I’ve seen it before. I couldn’t place it but when I watched ripley I was able to pinpoint all the influences and only really then understood saltburn. Idk how but ripley feels so more real and influential than saltburn even tho I saw saltburn first.
Purple Noon is one of my favorite movies ever. I’d love a comparison between that and Ripley. Though I guess you’ve already covered Ripley just now. Anyway it’s a great film!
Couldn't agree more! I felt this deep in my soul but you articulated why Saltburn felt shallow. Btw Bridgehead Revisited has a similar plot btw...but it goes into other territories.
One thing that I think is overlooked in this video is that, in my opinion, Barry and Matt weren’t initially out to steal their counterpart’s fortune. I believe that they were both originally obsessed with Felix and Dickie, then acted upon their new motives once rejected.
THIS! The Matt Damon Project is one of my favorite films. And there were certainly things that resonated and hit dischords with Ripley. But, importantly, it and especially Ripley were just wholecloth dripping with chiaroscuro. The tension between making the right move and always being on the brink of getting caught drives each of the pieces (though to different ends.). Italy, the Sea, the Sun. This was not a movie meant for the Midlands. Saltburn seemed to just be Ionesco that devolves into an imitation of John Watters. The sexuality was much less sensual. The absurdism left unexplored. Why wasn’t I getting my Pike - Mulligan camp at full throttle? It just went no where. (Check out Pike’s I Care A Lot for a more satisfying satirical catharsis.) Also, it’s not polite to say, but Hot Rat Boyfriend aside (a trend I reject), Keogan has the face of a cracked crème brulee. You can’t be 30, look 53, and play 17 all at the same time!
Only halfway through the video so it may come up, but I'm surprised no one has picked up the influence Brideshead Revisited plays in Saltburn. The main character even mentions the author in his dialog. It's like Emerald Fennel was trying to make a dark version of Brideshead. Both stories featur a low income main character being adopted by a rich young man at university. The main character also ends up falling in love with the wealth, lifestyle, and house of the rich family. There's even a sister.
@@spiderlegspinch9001 The mother - Brideshead Revisited The father - Talented Mr. Ripley The son - Saltburn Saltburn is a mummy's boy and it's father's son.
Since you've mentioned Ripley's sexuality, I feel the need to recommend an essay I've read long ago about Ripley's asexuality. I don't remember the name, but it's easy to find. The person who wrote it used the line from the novel "Just A Nothing" so maybe that's a path toward reading it. Though there are several ways to approach Ripley, I find this one to be quite interesting, as I'm asexual myself. I'm not sure if we could indeed call Ripley asexual, but it's a compelling interpretation nonetheless
absolutely phenominal video! the points were well-explained, thoughtful and accurate. i look forward to seeing more like this in the future if that's your plan :)
Ever since I watch Saltburn it didnt sit right with me that Oliver was revealed to be this mastermind murderer who planned it all from the start and this is for a couple of reasons: 1] As far was we know he had nothing to do with Felixs fathers death, that was just a happy coincidence on his part, and so his win at the end doesnt actually feel very earned as he didnt actually win, he got half way there before he was forced to give up, and then fate offered him one last opportunity. If he had had something to do with the fathers death, he would have bragged about it in that final monologue. This underminds his 'mastermind' label that the film is trying to convince the audience he has, leaving us feeling unsatisfied with this conclusion. 2] It's just not that interesting when compared to the first half of the movie. I think a much more interesting film would be one that sees Oliver inheriting Saltburn not through murder, but by simply playing the game better than everyone else. A large theme in Saltburn is the idea of pretendign everything is fine even when its all going to shit, and i think an Oliver who survives by virtue of simply being able to do that in a way that the family ends up being unable to do, especially at the hands of his manipulations and worming into their lives, creates far more avenues for theme exploration than just 'oh hes a nutter'.
There was something definitely missing in Saltburn and I think you've stated it quite well. Its like an unfinished poem that leaves the readers/ viewers stunted in the middle of a climactic end. The focus on external happenings and lack of introspection also creates a disconnect that never ties itself together. The acting was good though
I liked this and I think you've put into great perspective a lot of the issues in movies I've been seeing lately. There's 2 bad kinds of movies of which both are being consistently pumped out. There is the Hollywood cash grab garbage on one end (no surprise there), but there's also this growing group of "arthouse" films where the style attempts to carry the movie, but they ultimately are forgotten in a few years after their release (despite possible great acting or set design, etc.) because they have very little substance. It's a hard thing to do, it's the plight of every writer right now that it seems there's just so little to do that's truly "new", but nonetheless it leads people to get fooled into thinking the "Avant Garde" is real or profound when it is just as illusionary (and if anything way more pretentious too in that regard) as the tropes and characters portrayed in big blockbuster hits.
I found the SALTBURN had similar issues with as as fennels first go, young promising woman. They both are filmed nicely, casted well, have good ideas just starting to form - and but then they lose their stamina when the plot doesn’t make a lot of sense or is too outlandish even for fictional movie world. And in the end they perhaps don’t say just as much as they wanted to. I think YPW was a little more impactful than SALTBURN but both just really needed some more co-writers
Oh wow 17 subscribers. I watched this whole video just assuming you were already big because the video was of such high quality. Definitely subscribing. Hope the algorithm does you justice.
Liked this take a lot, even if it doesn't change my increasing love for this movie. I would say the movie is much more Howard's End than Ripley, but it's there. The big difference is, Ripley remains the (anti)hero of the story, and is intended to challenge the but ultimately keep our sympathies. His victims are always a bit worse or more pathetic than him. Saltburn does something much bolder. It tries (and maybe fails) to switch those sympathies. By the end of the movie I'm quite devastated by what has happened to this family. They are in hell. And it's not their fault. Their downfall comes because they tried to be human. Even if they could only do so for a limited time, they did try. Their mistake was doing it for someone who wasn't human and never wanted to be. In any case, subbed and enjoying your stuff!
Damn this is literally the first time im actually learning what Saltburn is about LMAO In all the conversation around it ive only seen people discuss some of the more gross scenes (looking at you bathtub drain) but never the story, so i kind of avoided it lmao Great Video, I'll definitely check out the Ripley show!
You might think Saltburn compares badly to Ripley but in my view it's nothing to how badly it stands up against what I think is it's truer inspiration, Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan and Gormenghast.
i think olivers motives are easily understandable. i know plenty of people with loving parents who are discontented and cynical. being raised by supportive parents who tell you youre brilliant and that you deserve the world, only for you to be a social outsider who no one wants to be friends with as you grow up is a very disorienting and isolating experience.
Idk why but this movie makes me comfortable in a weird way the cinematography is sooo beautiful the story is good i guess i love the relationship with the characters thats why them slowly dying impacted me soo deeply but the end is soo disappointing. I legit thought it was some deep message about obsession and etc… not the nerdy sigma who is two steps ahead like nickokado avocado
Considering how The Talented Mr. Ripley film of the late 90s is go to measuring stick to pit Saltburn against for criticical analysis and scrutiny, I have to commend this video for making the interesting choice to measure Saltburn to the Netflix Ripley miniseries. The differences are as clear as crystal. Not just in aesthetic but in storytelling. With Netflix Ripley filmed in a Noir style, we see Tom Ripley go from small time conman to cold blooded killer and identity thief. And it's the murders and the process of covering his tracks that propel his journey forward. The single motivation being greed. Once you experience the luxury of affluence, there's no leaving it. And Ripley killed to hold on to it with no remorse. Saltburn for all it's faults demands one's close attention and not to be taken at face value. Oliver Quick was an opportunistic force of darkness who's a collection or masks and no true sense of identity. An uncharismatic middle class nobody who wanted to be a somebody. In his obsession with Felix, Ollie fell short of being with him and becoming him. Due to the Catton families savior complex flag being raised too high from a place of vanity rather than true compassion and the need to keep up appearances that ended up getting them killed. The unreliable narration narrative says there's what Ollie knows to be true and what he tells the audience and himself in response.
Great video mate. I actually enjoyed Saltburn as a movie, even tho its as shallow as it gets. I dont consider it an "eat the rich movie"(wish it was), partly cause the protagonist is just as unlikeable as the rich people. Imo the conclusion (if it has one) of the movie was more like " care rich people, the sociopathic middle class is coming after you". All in all, its a fun movie if you dont overthink about it. But if you do, then it probably boils down to: there is nothing worse than a dumb movie that tries hard to come off as a smart one. Also, there is nothing worse than a movie that tries hard to shock you, just for the sake of shock AND also fails to do that (maybe the period and the bathtub scenes are shocking, if you are 15 or never had sex)
Imma be honest, you may have actually made me interested in Saltburn after the side by side analysis. You ask for the satisfying villain origin story and complexity behind Oliver's motivation but from what you described, he shouldn't have one. He literally had a pretty good life. Which makes his actions that much more sadistic. You ask for why? The answer is simple. Because he wanted to. Imagine someone coming in and derailing your life simply because they woke up wanting to do it. That is sick. Now I'm not sure if it is executed this way but from your description he made my stomach turn.
Saltburn is confusing because Oliver kills Felix seemingly randomly, but ultimately it’s a pretty cut and dry story. Not everything has to have deeper metaphorical analogs. Sometimes stuff just happens. What is the moral of the story of Odysseus and his men escaping from Polyphemus? ‘Be smarter than cyclops’ ‘Beware of random caves with lots of food’ I think it’s just supposed to be an inspirational story about Odysseus and his Odyssey. Saltburn is about Oliver’s obsession (what he calls love) with Felix and controlling Felix. He realizes that once Felix found out he was lying that there’s no way Oliver’s birthday is going to go how he wanted, despite him making every effort to win Felix over again. Finally upon realizing Felix is pretty much just waiting for the party to be over so he can 86 Oliver, Oliver takes ‘control’ by poisoning Felix and leaving him for dead. After that, I don’t really think he had much of a plan. He just existed at Saltburn with these eccentric people who were all mourning Felix (who essentially everybody is shown to be obsessed with) and they all begin to unravel together. The cousin and sister blames Oliver, the father wants nothing to do with Oliver, and the mother has some strange, uncomfortable connection to Oliver due to his ‘friendship’ with her son. The cousin gets booted first, since he and Oliver share humble origins, and the cousin believes Oliver is there to take what he is working towards. (The cousin’s character is here to show us that Oliver doesn’t give a flying FCK about the estate itself rather what is within the estate) When the sister seems to get too close, and is clearly out of her gourd, he leaves the razors and she exits stage left. I don’t remember how the dad dies, I guess he just does, but by then Oliver has already left his mark, and anybody who might still feel suspicion towards him is gone. Years and years later he comes back, it doesn’t matter why, maybe he planned it, maybe he just felt nostalgic for Felix, it doesn’t really matter why, and he waits for the mom to show up so he can act like it’s all coincidental. He wants to catch up, to gauge how things have been after all is said and done, and he finds that she is broken. Which puts him in the perfect position to snatch Saltburn for himself so he can have Felix’s memory all to himself. He wanted Felix, and they threatened his possession of Felix through the love and privilege they provided with their wealth and their estate. Felix would never need Oliver so long as he had his family and the things they gave him. Oliver would never get Felix to understand his feelings, especially when Felix found out he came from a typical suburban home, so Oliver kind of just breaks and yea- The last scene was definitely just shock value for clout. Especially with the annoying song, my partner was singing it for weeks 🙄 But everything else works. You just gotta not watch everything expecting it to be deep. Sometimes just enjoy the ride.
In a way, the movie isn’t about Oliver at all, but about Felix and how he lived and died being lied to all just because of his family and their wealth. This is part of Oliver’s BS that he narrates throughout the story. “He loved Felix, the others wanted what Felix had, but he *really* loved Felix.” Everybody is obsessed with Felix for his qualities. He’s handsome and tall, charismatic, intelligent, conversational, and he has a shit load of money. The movie shows us how Felix struggles, and that’s why he believed Oliver was truly his friend. That’s why their ‘unlikely’ friendship started in the first place. Felix thought he found someone who actually enjoyed hanging out, someone who knew nothing of the awesome life he had due to his wealth, and who didn’t care about getting a slice of the pie. That’s why Felix is beside himself when Oliver’s life turns out to be a lie. He defaults to thinking Oliver was deceiving him to get something from him, just like everybody else. He doesn’t realize that Oliver is weirdly obsessed with him, and there’s no way Oliver can admit it, especially once Felix is upset beyond reasoning and goes and gets hammered. That’s why I believe Oliver had no plan beyond Felix’s death. In a moment of weakness he did something truly irrational. That’s why he does the dirty with the dirt. It’s what he wanted in some disgusting twisted way. He ruined his chance, and now Felix is 6 feet under. It’s a tale of abuse, manipulation, deceit, wealth disparity, and how emotions can affect our decision making. As someone who has always struggled with having an identity outside of being ‘smart, handsome, straight-laced dude’ I related to Felix. It sucks being friends with someone only to find out they were crushing on you the whole time and now they’re like… MAD AT YOU?!?! because you didn’t see how obsessive they were??? If I had a nickel for every time it happened, I’d have like 3 or 4 nickels!
I’m pretty sure why it’s not believable because Saltburn was a movie for rich people. It’s an openly anti-poor/middle class movie. A warning from rich people to other rich people that the poor and the middle class will do this to you if you allow them in. I think that’s why it doesn’t resonate with people because it isn’t accurate to the actual middle/poor class life.
I never felt this way at all. If anything I thought it was supposed to be a spin on how it’s not about money or class, because if you zoom out he has it all already well off family, got into Oxford, caring parents. I came away thinking the message was much more about greed not coming from poverty or need but the sense of “there’s always more/better” and can spawn anywhere. Also that status is what was really important to him not the money, success, or even happiness.
Misunderstood… Everybody thinks he’s up to no good Whenever he’s around, things go wrong, the man sticks out like a sore thumb He thinks he’s funny, but he sends people running Even his family knows that he won’t grow, the little guy growing up Irish style! Things get complicated… No wonder he’s so hated EVERYBODY HATES OLIVER QUICK!!!
IMO: Oliver doesn’t envy the wealth and status of the rich. He’s obsessed with it; it’s beyond wanting but yearning. The sexual nature of his character is the representation of his overwhelming obsession (I do agree the cemetery scene was a little much. C*m and period bl**d was enough signs). I think it’s his constant calm demeanor that draws me to it being an obsession rather than envy. Envy is painful. Oliver doesn’t show pain in his status. The reveal of the film as interesting as it was also hurt the film. To keep the reveal we were not allowed to peak into the origins or build up of his obsession. I enjoyed the film as well, but I would have been fine if they threw away the catchy reveal and shown some origin of why he became obsessed with privilege. Just my 2 cents.
I hate to count it as a slight against the film, but I despise the fact that Saltburn popularised that vile fucking Sophie Ellis-Bextor song for what felt like an eternity online.
All the comments in this comment section suck, they are all over analyzing a movie. a movie is supposed to entertain you. your overthinking how a movie should deliver a message or meaning or a unique thought. its a movie.
Oliver's reveal felt utterly hollow and unearned. Felt cheated at the end after being intrigued for most of the film and then they made a sleight of hand slipping the "middle-class envy" story in after laying so much groundwork for a very different idea. The fact that it was written and directed by a member of the upper class makes it even worse. It becomes a question of whether; she didn't know how to finish off the things that she'd done a brilliant job of setting up, or the whole thing was just about her upper-class paranoia from the start. Either way, it made a beautiful and entertaining film feel like a waste of time. GoT season 8 esque
Because Ripley was great and Saltburn was mediocre at best. In fact, I find Saltburn to be the most classist movie of the last decade in the sense that it portraits social mobility as something inherently evil. Not to mention that the character of Oliver is very poorly written in the sense that we never know his goal, He wants to be loved by Felix or he wants to be rich? Because at some point, when those two goals are contradictory, the movie never understands if the character wants one or the other. If he wanted to just be rich, he wouldnt be so sexually obsessed with Felix, but if he wanted Felix, then he wouldn´t be dancing at the end because, regardless of all the money, he can´t never have the one thing he actually wants, Felix love.
Yeah this movie really went off the rails towards the end, delving into absurdity, ridiculousness, and shock value. Which sure I know it was done intentionally but regardless it veered into cringey edgelord territory instead of biting surrealist satire. The whiplash genre shifting from one scene to the next in the last half hour or so really had me scratching my head too. And not because it made me think, but more because it just had me confused and bewilder. Yeah the first half starts out strong and then it just falls of a cliff. At least before then all the gross and graphic and extreme scenes were entertaining and compelling but once the switches occur it just loses all it's shine. Still though, I liked it, I was entertained. I enjoyed the spectacle, but it could have been SO much more. It just didn't live up to what it was aspiring to unfortunately.
I like to believe the theory that Oliver never had this grad plan from the start and is just lying about it to seem more intelligent than he actually is. We know Oliver constantly lies, he even lies about not being in love with Felix. So it's more plausible that all of the events of the movie just happened and he took the credit for it. I mean after he leaves Saltburn 15 years pass where he has no contact with anyone from the family until Felix's father dies of natural causes.
Oliver Quick did not have an all-consuming plan from the beginning, and it doesn't actively murder anyone until the very end. Sure, he planned to meet Felix and become his best-bud friend (if only for a summer) but there was never ANY idea of taking over the house or killing anyone. Tom Ripley bashes his victim with an oar 1/3 of the way in; in the final 1/5 Oliver just leaves a poisoned bottle of wine or a couple of razor blades around and lets others decide what happens next. That makes it seem rushed if you buy into the theory that it's some Master Plan From The Beginning (and why so many people criticize Saltburn) but it's really just Oliver realizing once he's lost Felix for good after the parents reveal he begins to unravel. The bathtub and grave scene might indicate Oliver is unusual but nothing criminal happens and really can't be lumped into the same category with the final act proceedings.
I thought this movie was about how insane british people are. If they showed the aftermath of his takeover of saltburn it would just turn into barry lyndon in modern day.
I love the matt damon, jude law film. I hated saltburn, it was plain as day the plot was identical just with nudity and gay sex specifically to shock people. Hate jacob elordi with everything. Barry keoghan is okay
Everything falls into place for Oliver far too neatly and the film just overall being kinda gross doesn't really make up for it, in reality Oliver would be suspect number one
I fail to see the brilliance of the newest Ripley. The actor is great and all but subtle is not a word I’d use describing Tom in this series. I just can’t suspend my disbelief enough to buy that anyone would let that creep in their lives for longer than few hours. A little bit of charm is necessary to at least be likeable at first. Why would you allow someone so unlikable to „lodge themselves” in your space? Nah. And I get it’s different and I get it might be more true to the book and I’m not trying to glorify Matt Damon flick, that was a „remake” too after all. Just saying I didn’t enjoy it as much.
Saltburn is a shitty rip off of The Talented Mr Ripley, so I'm not surprised that Ripley, a thing based on the book that Saltburn was ripping off, would be better. Broey Deschanel has a good video about this.
Saltburn is what rich people think middle class people are like, because they do probably attract weirdos like that into their entourage. It reads as more of a fable for silver spoons. "Watch out for these parasites!" while also giving middle and working class folk a pathetic idea of a power fantasy. Ripley is not *realistic*, but it is more accurate to what that kind-of person actually is: circumstantial and corrupted. He's still an awful human being, but there's more of a sincerity.
nice to see someone actually seeing that the film wasn't about "eat the rich" but more about middle class envy and how glorifying and deserpately wanting to be upper class can drive one insane.
really liked the points about their motivations from the start, didn't really know why I didn't buy the Oliver reveal until right now.
Thanks dude
I knew something was up with him the minute he stood there watching his friend masturbate and then drank his bath water lol. There were many signs leading up to the reveal that something was off about Oliver. They only make him seem innocent in like the first 30 minutes of the movie and then he starts acting weird
Eat The Rich is such a middle class envy sentiment. Eating the rich would just open up room for them to be rich.
@karinalumen9722 I think in the UK there's a real difference in class vs wealth. From my memory while shooting the film, the cattons weren't considered obscenely wealthy, more just coming from old money - basically their family had owned that estate for hundreds of years. I think The Gentlemen touches on this as well, there's a lot of old-money upper class families that actually have not that much (still millions) liquid money
I thought this was the message too until the end
Making Oliver some middle class psychopath obsessed with wealth kind of deflated the movie and was ironically kind of predictable
I was hoping the movie would be about Oliver desperately embedding himself into Felix’s family because being rich is obviously fantastic, and becoming consumed by it and stealing it for himself, only to become the target of other parasites seeking his quality of life
If the director hasn't find her footing in writing a well though story from start to the end but knows how to film in an interesting and beautiful way. Why not co-write with other people until she gains a little experience
Well, she won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for her film Promising Young Woman, so this could just be a hiccup.
@@deviantmoore9744it’s very cute you think the Oscar’s are a way to validate good writing or bad writing.
@@Gandalfthegoldenbird In my opinion, Promising Young Woman is a good movie. The plot is simple, but it works and serves the movie's theme well. This is not the case with Saltburn.
@@Gandalfthegoldenbird Especially considering everyone who worked on the movie, Emerald Fennell herself included that the only reason that movie won an oscar was because of the pandemic since the movie came out right before lockdown so every other that was supposed to come out that year was delayed
*Emerald Fennelll herself admitted
Excellent analysis, even better than the first. I think another key difference regards the characters' desired end game. Ripley seeks total transformation by permanently escaping into a completely false identity - Becoming. Whereas in Saltburn the end game is left (likely purposefully) more vague, closer to observation into another world by immersion - Exploring.
Thanks my man! And I like your point a lot of their differing endgames, very true.
I feel like Saltburn is all fluff and meant to garner fandom craze.
It is style over substance.
Bro this movie is like 80+% substance. I don’t know how you could have any other takeaway
@@itcouldbelupus2842 I was about to argue with you but I realized never actually watched it myself only video essays abt it
@@itcouldbelupus2842 Will do!
there is substance, but it’s like… ignorant substance that feels mostly done to create a tweetable twist moment. like yes, middle class envy, but also it doesn’t really earn that theme because it doesn’t establish middle class aspect very well. Instead it comes across as “those villainous poors don’t know their place and are scheming against us, DEI admissions are actually fraudsters.”
I felt Saltburn said nothing new. It was also unable to say anything old in an original way. Ripley was made by folk who understood the source material and presented it in an original and stunning way.
Salt burn is a movie that you’re excited as you watch for the great reveal, and in the last 20 minutes you realize you’re in the last 20 minutes of this movie and it won’t actually go where you’ve been hoping it will, and the movie really will just end
Great video- the editing is genuinely top tier! I similarly think Saltburn was just a strange attempt at cultivating a profound, thought-provoking societal commentary. But- in line with modernity- the director felt the need to throw in a load of absurd 'gotcha' moments to grab the viewers attention. This just made it a confusing mess really. Great analysis anyway!
you're spot on - in a strange juxtaposition, the overuse of meme moments and attempts at virality present in the movie *perfectly* reflect the actual hyper-saturation in todays modern media, although I highly doubt it was intentional.
Totally agree with your analysis! Between All of Us Strangers and Ripley, I've been so impressed over the past year with Andrew Scott, who I didn't really know much about before. He's incredibly talented. I'm really looking forward to whatever he does next.
He really is unbelievably talented. I hope to see more of him.
He played the, imo, most authentic and capturing Hamlet!
Emerald Fennell, seems to me as a very insecure filmmaker. In her first film Promising Young Women, it started great, until the ending absolutely ruined it for me. The ending seemed as if she realised that the film she was making was heading towards a bleak ending, so she hamfisted in an ending that I felt went completely against what was the essence of the story. Instead of facing the ending the story was meant to have, she wanted to make one she was more comfortable doing, but in the end crippled the film overall.
Saltburn was Fennell trying to write a provoking societal commentary, but instead, probably becoming insecure about portraying the experience of class and sexuality, she writes a predictable mystery where she confuses controversy and provocation with complexity. Your story isn't complex because you have gay characters or a bunch of weird transgressive sexual acts. The prior is so-what, the latter is just forced.
Interesting point on Promising Young Women, I’ve heard it’s overall a more complete feature than Saltburn but still need to watch.
She grew up in Saltburn.
Promise young woman is a subversion of the tropes of the "Vengeful Women" genre from the very first moment of the film, the film clearly subverts viewers' expectations regarding these narrative tropes. The ending is completely consistent with what has been presented throughout the film.
Saltburn was already clearly a satire, which for some worked and for others it didn't.
Promising Young Woman was just Veronica Mars high octane. It even has two of Kristen Bells beaus in it.
She was born posh so her perspective wouldn't really be more complete on class
Thanks for covering these stories - I haven't seen any marketing for Ripley (maybe I just live under a rock?), but now I really want to watch it.
Because Ripley is 20 years old
@@_tardigradethere was a recent remake
@@amannamedred7932 thank you, that reply had me confused for a moment. I was like... didn't it come out this year lol
@Skip-Towne it was great imo you should watch it
The difference between the two is that one is a tour de force while the other is pastiche
You language is so high regard, are you writer, sir?
Accurate
This comment really insists upon itself
💯 summed the feel.. a poor imitation.. with great visuals
@@bbrother92could be an architect.. we use ‘pastiche’ in describing architectural typologies.
To me the Oliver’s motives make perfect sense, if you’re always on the edge of something. If you’re not “well adjusted” (noting that Oliver is 17-20) you’ll do anything to have what you want. It’s like being teased your whole life. I guarantee you Oliver’s whole life he’s been wealth adjacent. That will literally drive you insane if you perceive it to be the reason people treat you differently.
The moment I saw the little rodent man dancing naked around that mansion, I was so put off by what little the movie had to say that I had to mentally detox lol
Yep most indulgent moment by the director imo
I think Saltburn is about mimetic desire, wanting what others possess, wealth, status, and power...the film is not just a critic to rich people.
Venetia’s tells Oliver at the end of the movie, that she got it wrong, that he is a moth actually. A moth mindlessly consumes everything in its path, driven by its attraction to the light. Oliver devours everything in his pursuit of Felix’s life, in admiration, envy, and also self-destruction. it’s really about Oliver’s journey.
I loved saultburn, i agree they put a lot of scenes just for shock value (like the grave scene) but overall i love it.
Yes, the main thing in salt burn is the maze or the figure within the maze, which is minotuar from greek mythology, who is the meaning of desire, and the things we would do just for something which won't last. I understand how people can think it's a sort of poor vs rich film, but it's really not. That's why in the start it goes 'I didn't love him' then 'I did love him' because often people mistake desire for love or most people who do feel desire will define it as true love
and I sort of feel like the 'only for shock scenes' are rather more of a meaning to how deprive and insane we can go just to feel like something or someone, because with the grave screen or bath screen for example it was more of wanting to be close as he could to felix because he literally wanted to be felix and that's why the dance scene happened it was supposed to signify the freedom from felix and how everything is now his
a wonderful and well-made video, perfectly succinct too!! haven’t had the fortune to watch Ripley yet but the mentions of Caravaggio’s art makes me think of the use of lighting/shadows in NBC’s Hannibal, which I really recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet!!
I remember when ripley on Netflix came out and I’ve never heard of any of the old stories. But then I watched Saltburn but immediately after I watched it I felt like I’ve seen it before. I couldn’t place it but when I watched ripley I was able to pinpoint all the influences and only really then understood saltburn. Idk how but ripley feels so more real and influential than saltburn even tho I saw saltburn first.
Purple Noon is one of my favorite movies ever. I’d love a comparison between that and Ripley. Though I guess you’ve already covered Ripley just now. Anyway it’s a great film!
I’ve heard great things about Purple Noon, good suggestion
Couldn't agree more! I felt this deep in my soul but you articulated why Saltburn felt shallow. Btw Bridgehead Revisited has a similar plot btw...but it goes into other territories.
Thats why the Talented Mr. Ripley is the best one
One thing that I think is overlooked in this video is that, in my opinion, Barry and Matt weren’t initially out to steal their counterpart’s fortune. I believe that they were both originally obsessed with Felix and Dickie, then acted upon their new motives once rejected.
THIS!
The Matt Damon Project is one of my favorite films. And there were certainly things that resonated and hit dischords with Ripley. But, importantly, it and especially Ripley were just wholecloth dripping with chiaroscuro. The tension between making the right move and always being on the brink of getting caught drives each of the pieces (though to different ends.). Italy, the Sea, the Sun. This was not a movie meant for the Midlands.
Saltburn seemed to just be Ionesco that devolves into an imitation of John Watters. The sexuality was much less sensual. The absurdism left unexplored. Why wasn’t I getting my Pike - Mulligan camp at full throttle? It just went no where. (Check out Pike’s I Care A Lot for a more satisfying satirical catharsis.)
Also, it’s not polite to say, but Hot Rat Boyfriend aside (a trend I reject), Keogan has the face of a cracked crème brulee. You can’t be 30, look 53, and play 17 all at the same time!
Only halfway through the video so it may come up, but I'm surprised no one has picked up the influence Brideshead Revisited plays in Saltburn. The main character even mentions the author in his dialog. It's like Emerald Fennel was trying to make a dark version of Brideshead. Both stories featur a low income main character being adopted by a rich young man at university. The main character also ends up falling in love with the wealth, lifestyle, and house of the rich family. There's even a sister.
I’m a//.. I don’t/
@@spiderlegspinch9001
The mother - Brideshead Revisited
The father - Talented Mr. Ripley
The son - Saltburn
Saltburn is a mummy's boy and it's father's son.
that MATT DAMON overlay / voice is killing me LMAOO
i’m like obsessed with this thumbnail
What a greatly written and narrated video essay.
Deserved thumbs up and a subscribe
Ripley is such a masterpiece.
Since you've mentioned Ripley's sexuality, I feel the need to recommend an essay I've read long ago about Ripley's asexuality. I don't remember the name, but it's easy to find. The person who wrote it used the line from the novel "Just A Nothing" so maybe that's a path toward reading it. Though there are several ways to approach Ripley, I find this one to be quite interesting, as I'm asexual myself. I'm not sure if we could indeed call Ripley asexual, but it's a compelling interpretation nonetheless
Enjoyed this a lot, great editing!
talented mr ripley is so good
absolutely phenominal video! the points were well-explained, thoughtful and accurate. i look forward to seeing more like this in the future if that's your plan :)
Thanks so much! And yes plenty more to come
Ripley is incredible!! Glad to see some content on it
Ever since I watch Saltburn it didnt sit right with me that Oliver was revealed to be this mastermind murderer who planned it all from the start and this is for a couple of reasons:
1] As far was we know he had nothing to do with Felixs fathers death, that was just a happy coincidence on his part, and so his win at the end doesnt actually feel very earned as he didnt actually win, he got half way there before he was forced to give up, and then fate offered him one last opportunity. If he had had something to do with the fathers death, he would have bragged about it in that final monologue. This underminds his 'mastermind' label that the film is trying to convince the audience he has, leaving us feeling unsatisfied with this conclusion.
2] It's just not that interesting when compared to the first half of the movie. I think a much more interesting film would be one that sees Oliver inheriting Saltburn not through murder, but by simply playing the game better than everyone else. A large theme in Saltburn is the idea of pretendign everything is fine even when its all going to shit, and i think an Oliver who survives by virtue of simply being able to do that in a way that the family ends up being unable to do, especially at the hands of his manipulations and worming into their lives, creates far more avenues for theme exploration than just 'oh hes a nutter'.
Andrew Scott is an amazing actor. When I first saw him in Sherlock I knew he was a hidden talent.
There was something definitely missing in Saltburn and I think you've stated it quite well. Its like an unfinished poem that leaves the readers/ viewers stunted in the middle of a climactic end. The focus on external happenings and lack of introspection also creates a disconnect that never ties itself together. The acting was good though
I liked this and I think you've put into great perspective a lot of the issues in movies I've been seeing lately. There's 2 bad kinds of movies of which both are being consistently pumped out. There is the Hollywood cash grab garbage on one end (no surprise there), but there's also this growing group of "arthouse" films where the style attempts to carry the movie, but they ultimately are forgotten in a few years after their release (despite possible great acting or set design, etc.) because they have very little substance. It's a hard thing to do, it's the plight of every writer right now that it seems there's just so little to do that's truly "new", but nonetheless it leads people to get fooled into thinking the "Avant Garde" is real or profound when it is just as illusionary (and if anything way more pretentious too in that regard) as the tropes and characters portrayed in big blockbuster hits.
hey, this was a very good video! You're very eloquent and I really like your level tone of voice. Subscribed 👍
I found the SALTBURN had similar issues with as as fennels first go, young promising woman. They both are filmed nicely, casted well, have good ideas just starting to form - and but then they lose their stamina when the plot doesn’t make a lot of sense or is too outlandish even for fictional movie world. And in the end they perhaps don’t say just as much as they wanted to. I think YPW was a little more impactful than SALTBURN but both just really needed some more co-writers
The similarities are almost uncanny but they are very, very different movies with very, very different presentation and goals. That's all I can say.
Excellent video essay. Thank you.
Oh wow 17 subscribers. I watched this whole video just assuming you were already big because the video was of such high quality. Definitely subscribing. Hope the algorithm does you justice.
Mate thank you, really appreciate it!
you may be right, i subbed
Wait, is this not an established channel? Very good points made and a very expressive voice. Subscribed.
Liked this take a lot, even if it doesn't change my increasing love for this movie.
I would say the movie is much more Howard's End than Ripley, but it's there. The big difference is, Ripley remains the (anti)hero of the story, and is intended to challenge the but ultimately keep our sympathies. His victims are always a bit worse or more pathetic than him.
Saltburn does something much bolder. It tries (and maybe fails) to switch those sympathies. By the end of the movie I'm quite devastated by what has happened to this family. They are in hell. And it's not their fault. Their downfall comes because they tried to be human. Even if they could only do so for a limited time, they did try. Their mistake was doing it for someone who wasn't human and never wanted to be.
In any case, subbed and enjoying your stuff!
Damn this is literally the first time im actually learning what Saltburn is about LMAO
In all the conversation around it ive only seen people discuss some of the more gross scenes (looking at you bathtub drain) but never the story, so i kind of avoided it lmao
Great Video, I'll definitely check out the Ripley show!
I think the fact that everyone's talking about the scenes established for shock value rather than the actual story says a lot about Saltburn
woefully underrated video, you’re analysis is really well presented!
Why I like both: Hot Men.
Having loved Plein Soleil, I'm happy to learn there's now a Tom Ripley show
Solid video essay brother. Subbed. Keep up the good work 👏🏽
Thanks mate, right back at you. Will definitely check some of your stuff out too.
Emerald Fennell is just a female version of Sam Levinson.
THISS, SHE HAS WEIRD FETISHES AND IT SHOWS
You might think Saltburn compares badly to Ripley but in my view it's nothing to how badly it stands up against what I think is it's truer inspiration, Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan and Gormenghast.
i think olivers motives are easily understandable. i know plenty of people with loving parents who are discontented and cynical. being raised by supportive parents who tell you youre brilliant and that you deserve the world, only for you to be a social outsider who no one wants to be friends with as you grow up is a very disorienting and isolating experience.
Your 801th subscriber amazing vid💓💆🏿♀️
Idk why but this movie makes me comfortable in a weird way the cinematography is sooo beautiful the story is good i guess i love the relationship with the characters thats why them slowly dying impacted me soo deeply but the end is soo disappointing. I legit thought it was some deep message about obsession and etc… not the nerdy sigma who is two steps ahead like nickokado avocado
Considering how The Talented Mr. Ripley film of the late 90s is go to measuring stick to pit Saltburn against for criticical analysis and scrutiny, I have to commend this video for making the interesting choice to measure Saltburn to the Netflix Ripley miniseries. The differences are as clear as crystal. Not just in aesthetic but in storytelling.
With Netflix Ripley filmed in a Noir style, we see Tom Ripley go from small time conman to cold blooded killer and identity thief. And it's the murders and the process of covering his tracks that propel his journey forward. The single motivation being greed. Once you experience the luxury of affluence, there's no leaving it. And Ripley killed to hold on to it with no remorse.
Saltburn for all it's faults demands one's close attention and not to be taken at face value. Oliver Quick was an opportunistic force of darkness who's a collection or masks and no true sense of identity. An uncharismatic middle class nobody who wanted to be a somebody. In his obsession with Felix, Ollie fell short of being with him and becoming him. Due to the Catton families savior complex flag being raised too high from a place of vanity rather than true compassion and the need to keep up appearances that ended up getting them killed. The unreliable narration narrative says there's what Ollie knows to be true and what he tells the audience and himself in response.
Great video mate. I actually enjoyed Saltburn as a movie, even tho its as shallow as it gets. I dont consider it an "eat the rich movie"(wish it was), partly cause the protagonist is just as unlikeable as the rich people. Imo the conclusion (if it has one) of the movie was more like " care rich people, the sociopathic middle class is coming after you". All in all, its a fun movie if you dont overthink about it. But if you do, then it probably boils down to: there is nothing worse than a dumb movie that tries hard to come off as a smart one. Also, there is nothing worse than a movie that tries hard to shock you, just for the sake of shock AND also fails to do that (maybe the period and the bathtub scenes are shocking, if you are 15 or never had sex)
Im the 100th like and I really liked your video. 🎉
Kee'Ogan's no Alain Delon.
Imma be honest, you may have actually made me interested in Saltburn after the side by side analysis. You ask for the satisfying villain origin story and complexity behind Oliver's motivation but from what you described, he shouldn't have one. He literally had a pretty good life. Which makes his actions that much more sadistic. You ask for why? The answer is simple. Because he wanted to. Imagine someone coming in and derailing your life simply because they woke up wanting to do it. That is sick. Now I'm not sure if it is executed this way but from your description he made my stomach turn.
The use of chirascuro is called tennebrism
I feel her first outing in films was much stronger aesthetic and story wise? Perhaps it's because she had more people to bounce ideas around
fantastic video!
Saltburn is confusing because Oliver kills Felix seemingly randomly, but ultimately it’s a pretty cut and dry story. Not everything has to have deeper metaphorical analogs. Sometimes stuff just happens. What is the moral of the story of Odysseus and his men escaping from Polyphemus?
‘Be smarter than cyclops’
‘Beware of random caves with lots of food’
I think it’s just supposed to be an inspirational story about Odysseus and his Odyssey.
Saltburn is about Oliver’s obsession (what he calls love) with Felix and controlling Felix. He realizes that once Felix found out he was lying that there’s no way Oliver’s birthday is going to go how he wanted, despite him making every effort to win Felix over again. Finally upon realizing Felix is pretty much just waiting for the party to be over so he can 86 Oliver, Oliver takes ‘control’ by poisoning Felix and leaving him for dead. After that, I don’t really think he had much of a plan. He just existed at Saltburn with these eccentric people who were all mourning Felix (who essentially everybody is shown to be obsessed with) and they all begin to unravel together. The cousin and sister blames Oliver, the father wants nothing to do with Oliver, and the mother has some strange, uncomfortable connection to Oliver due to his ‘friendship’ with her son. The cousin gets booted first, since he and Oliver share humble origins, and the cousin believes Oliver is there to take what he is working towards. (The cousin’s character is here to show us that Oliver doesn’t give a flying FCK about the estate itself rather what is within the estate) When the sister seems to get too close, and is clearly out of her gourd, he leaves the razors and she exits stage left. I don’t remember how the dad dies, I guess he just does, but by then Oliver has already left his mark, and anybody who might still feel suspicion towards him is gone. Years and years later he comes back, it doesn’t matter why, maybe he planned it, maybe he just felt nostalgic for Felix, it doesn’t really matter why, and he waits for the mom to show up so he can act like it’s all coincidental. He wants to catch up, to gauge how things have been after all is said and done, and he finds that she is broken. Which puts him in the perfect position to snatch Saltburn for himself so he can have Felix’s memory all to himself.
He wanted Felix, and they threatened his possession of Felix through the love and privilege they provided with their wealth and their estate. Felix would never need Oliver so long as he had his family and the things they gave him. Oliver would never get Felix to understand his feelings, especially when Felix found out he came from a typical suburban home, so Oliver kind of just breaks and yea- The last scene was definitely just shock value for clout. Especially with the annoying song, my partner was singing it for weeks 🙄 But everything else works. You just gotta not watch everything expecting it to be deep. Sometimes just enjoy the ride.
In a way, the movie isn’t about Oliver at all, but about Felix and how he lived and died being lied to all just because of his family and their wealth. This is part of Oliver’s BS that he narrates throughout the story. “He loved Felix, the others wanted what Felix had, but he *really* loved Felix.”
Everybody is obsessed with Felix for his qualities. He’s handsome and tall, charismatic, intelligent, conversational, and he has a shit load of money. The movie shows us how Felix struggles, and that’s why he believed Oliver was truly his friend. That’s why their ‘unlikely’ friendship started in the first place. Felix thought he found someone who actually enjoyed hanging out, someone who knew nothing of the awesome life he had due to his wealth, and who didn’t care about getting a slice of the pie.
That’s why Felix is beside himself when Oliver’s life turns out to be a lie. He defaults to thinking Oliver was deceiving him to get something from him, just like everybody else. He doesn’t realize that Oliver is weirdly obsessed with him, and there’s no way Oliver can admit it, especially once Felix is upset beyond reasoning and goes and gets hammered. That’s why I believe Oliver had no plan beyond Felix’s death. In a moment of weakness he did something truly irrational. That’s why he does the dirty with the dirt. It’s what he wanted in some disgusting twisted way. He ruined his chance, and now Felix is 6 feet under.
It’s a tale of abuse, manipulation, deceit, wealth disparity, and how emotions can affect our decision making.
As someone who has always struggled with having an identity outside of being ‘smart, handsome, straight-laced dude’
I related to Felix. It sucks being friends with someone only to find out they were crushing on you the whole time and now they’re like… MAD AT YOU?!?! because you didn’t see how obsessive they were??? If I had a nickel for every time it happened, I’d have like 3 or 4 nickels!
I’m pretty sure why it’s not believable because Saltburn was a movie for rich people. It’s an openly anti-poor/middle class movie. A warning from rich people to other rich people that the poor and the middle class will do this to you if you allow them in. I think that’s why it doesn’t resonate with people because it isn’t accurate to the actual middle/poor class life.
I never felt this way at all. If anything I thought it was supposed to be a spin on how it’s not about money or class, because if you zoom out he has it all already well off family, got into Oxford, caring parents. I came away thinking the message was much more about greed not coming from poverty or need but the sense of “there’s always more/better” and can spawn anywhere. Also that status is what was really important to him not the money, success, or even happiness.
Matt Damon 😂😂😂👏🏼 Great video dude. Subbed!
Misunderstood… Everybody thinks he’s up to no good
Whenever he’s around, things go wrong, the man sticks out like a sore thumb
He thinks he’s funny, but he sends people running
Even his family knows that he won’t grow, the little guy growing up Irish style!
Things get complicated… No wonder he’s so hated
EVERYBODY HATES OLIVER QUICK!!!
IMO: Oliver doesn’t envy the wealth and status of the rich. He’s obsessed with it; it’s beyond wanting but yearning. The sexual nature of his character is the representation of his overwhelming obsession (I do agree the cemetery scene was a little much. C*m and period bl**d was enough signs).
I think it’s his constant calm demeanor that draws me to it being an obsession rather than envy. Envy is painful. Oliver doesn’t show pain in his status.
The reveal of the film as interesting as it was also hurt the film. To keep the reveal we were not allowed to peak into the origins or build up of his obsession.
I enjoyed the film as well, but I would have been fine if they threw away the catchy reveal and shown some origin of why he became obsessed with privilege. Just my 2 cents.
I hate to count it as a slight against the film, but I despise the fact that Saltburn popularised that vile fucking Sophie Ellis-Bextor song for what felt like an eternity online.
All the comments in this comment section suck, they are all over analyzing a movie. a movie is supposed to entertain you. your overthinking how a movie should deliver a message or meaning or a unique thought. its a movie.
Did Barry Keoghan say that he insisted on dancing naked and also improvised the grave scene
Oliver's reveal felt utterly hollow and unearned. Felt cheated at the end after being intrigued for most of the film and then they made a sleight of hand slipping the "middle-class envy" story in after laying so much groundwork for a very different idea. The fact that it was written and directed by a member of the upper class makes it even worse. It becomes a question of whether; she didn't know how to finish off the things that she'd done a brilliant job of setting up, or the whole thing was just about her upper-class paranoia from the start. Either way, it made a beautiful and entertaining film feel like a waste of time. GoT season 8 esque
I didn’t think the Ripley remake was good at all and Imm a huge fan.
Because Ripley was great and Saltburn was mediocre at best. In fact, I find Saltburn to be the most classist movie of the last decade in the sense that it portraits social mobility as something inherently evil. Not to mention that the character of Oliver is very poorly written in the sense that we never know his goal, He wants to be loved by Felix or he wants to be rich? Because at some point, when those two goals are contradictory, the movie never understands if the character wants one or the other. If he wanted to just be rich, he wouldnt be so sexually obsessed with Felix, but if he wanted Felix, then he wouldn´t be dancing at the end because, regardless of all the money, he can´t never have the one thing he actually wants, Felix love.
Yeah this movie really went off the rails towards the end, delving into absurdity, ridiculousness, and shock value. Which sure I know it was done intentionally but regardless it veered into cringey edgelord territory instead of biting surrealist satire. The whiplash genre shifting from one scene to the next in the last half hour or so really had me scratching my head too. And not because it made me think, but more because it just had me confused and bewilder. Yeah the first half starts out strong and then it just falls of a cliff. At least before then all the gross and graphic and extreme scenes were entertaining and compelling but once the switches occur it just loses all it's shine.
Still though, I liked it, I was entertained. I enjoyed the spectacle, but it could have been SO much more. It just didn't live up to what it was aspiring to unfortunately.
I like to believe the theory that Oliver never had this grad plan from the start and is just lying about it to seem more intelligent than he actually is. We know Oliver constantly lies, he even lies about not being in love with Felix. So it's more plausible that all of the events of the movie just happened and he took the credit for it. I mean after he leaves Saltburn 15 years pass where he has no contact with anyone from the family until Felix's father dies of natural causes.
Oliver Quick did not have an all-consuming plan from the beginning, and it doesn't actively murder anyone until the very end. Sure, he planned to meet Felix and become his best-bud friend (if only for a summer) but there was never ANY idea of taking over the house or killing anyone. Tom Ripley bashes his victim with an oar 1/3 of the way in; in the final 1/5 Oliver just leaves a poisoned bottle of wine or a couple of razor blades around and lets others decide what happens next. That makes it seem rushed if you buy into the theory that it's some Master Plan From The Beginning (and why so many people criticize Saltburn) but it's really just Oliver realizing once he's lost Felix for good after the parents reveal he begins to unravel. The bathtub and grave scene might indicate Oliver is unusual but nothing criminal happens and really can't be lumped into the same category with the final act proceedings.
In short Oliver fell short of being with Felix and the attempt to take his place in the Catton family. Both of which he chose to destroy as a result.
Soon you will see money from your TH-cam work. And only after a couple videos! Well done
I thought this movie was about how insane british people are. If they showed the aftermath of his takeover of saltburn it would just turn into barry lyndon in modern day.
Im glad i didnt push myself to finish watching this movie
I love the matt damon, jude law film. I hated saltburn, it was plain as day the plot was identical just with nudity and gay sex specifically to shock people. Hate jacob elordi with everything. Barry keoghan is okay
I liked rosamund that's all
Oliver would have been a lot more "normal" in the original script, all the nudity a lot gross out moments came from Barry Keoghan.
It’s almost the exact same story.
MATT DAMOON
Everything falls into place for Oliver far too neatly and the film just overall being kinda gross doesn't really make up for it, in reality Oliver would be suspect number one
I fail to see the brilliance of the newest Ripley. The actor is great and all but subtle is not a word I’d use describing Tom in this series. I just can’t suspend my disbelief enough to buy that anyone would let that creep in their lives for longer than few hours. A little bit of charm is necessary to at least be likeable at first. Why would you allow someone so unlikable to „lodge themselves” in your space? Nah. And I get it’s different and I get it might be more true to the book and I’m not trying to glorify Matt Damon flick, that was a „remake” too after all. Just saying I didn’t enjoy it as much.
Because one is from an incredible author and the other isn’t.
As someone who is a huge ran of talented mr ripley i hated the ripley tv show
i loved the show and i liked the movie but felt it was less subtle.
The main character in Saltburn wasn’t believable. He was a caricature.
feral gen z lol love that
UK ppl know a lot what is going on in classes warfare)
Director should stick to music videos
the talented mr ripley Is better than ripley
I call it the Snyder effect, brilliant visuals with pretentious and self serving writing
i wasn't impressed with it
Saltburn is a shitty rip off of The Talented Mr Ripley, so I'm not surprised that Ripley, a thing based on the book that Saltburn was ripping off, would be better. Broey Deschanel has a good video about this.
Saltburn is what rich people think middle class people are like, because they do probably attract weirdos like that into their entourage. It reads as more of a fable for silver spoons. "Watch out for these parasites!" while also giving middle and working class folk a pathetic idea of a power fantasy.
Ripley is not *realistic*, but it is more accurate to what that kind-of person actually is: circumstantial and corrupted. He's still an awful human being, but there's more of a sincerity.
Terrible mess of a thing
I just loved the house to think there are little time capuals of decident tast like that left. And the idea of a cuckoo.
saltburn was ass and people will realize it eventually. even i liked it first viewing