Saltburn (2023)
Love it or hate it, twisted fun.
Presentation:
Talented Emerald Fennell pleases us with beautiful cinematography in 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Shot on film with spherical lenses, the movies feels intimate and somewhat voyeuristic at times. The set is meticulously designed and painstakingly attentive to detail to accurately represent the era and atmosphere. The tall frame allows you to appreciate the grandeur of the estate and get extremely close to the characters. The story starts innocuously enough making you assume nothing would be amiss for the first act. There are small clues especially from the performance of the incredibly talented Barry Keoghan. For experienced filmwatchers, you may find the ending to be predictably twisted but you will enjoy the ride nonetheless. There are 2/3 few scenes in particular that should test the time as some of the most obscene moments in film. It's an even more sick version of Parasite with the posh British setting of The Riot Club/Euphoria. Heavily influenced by The Talented Mr. Ripley, it does appear to try a bit hard to have as much shock value as possible to the detriment of the story but the film doesn't take itself too seriously enough to warrant any considerable objection. If this film doesn't make you a fan of Koeghan, nothing will.
Conclusion:
“How much shock value do you want?” - “Yes.” Unbelievably twisted performance from Barry Keoghan with some of the most obscene moments in modern film. Possibly leaving you offended, but a fun time nevertheless. This movie will be good or bad depending on how seriously you take the plot
Recommendations
Not the smashing you expected.