Sig.Franco’s review published on Letterboxd:
I've heard many things concerning Saltburn, and having watched it just now, I can finally say that this film is indeed quite worth the fuss.
Emerald Fennell directs a film which is unquestionably predictable and really simplistic, but also extremely effective in its narration and aesthetics.
Saltburn is set in England in 2006, and consequently goes on to mention a number of things related to this nation in those specific years, such as the popularity of Harry Potter and that of William and Kate (whose relationship became official and public precisely in these years).
These two topics are linked to a series of processions and thoughts that clearly divide the social classes of Oliver and Felix: the title that beats the merit.
And that's Saltburn, a vicious tale of social divide and desire for emergence.
But what really made me experience this view as extremely pleasant and engaging was Fennell's firm and mysterious direction and the mesmerizing photography of Linus Sandgren (who also was behind the cinematography of Babylon).
As it proceeds slowly but steadily, Saltburn shifts its direction, making what seemed to us a tender story of repressed homosexuality in an atrocious tale of social parasitism topped with some "unusual" scenes, which are created to perfection to scandalize the younger audience.
I can't wait to see what Emerald Fennell's got in store next!
P.S. Barry Keoghan is truly growing as an actor, his performance here is as haunting as it is tender and innocent. An outstanding professionist, who'll be able to gift us with many wonderful interpretations in the years to come.
[Off topic: Jacob Elordi could play a perfect Bruce Wayne in the DCU, just sayin'...]
