Writer and director Emerald Fennell follows up her very enjoyable Promising Young Woman with this new offering. Barry Keoghan stars as Oliver Quick who is struggling to find his place at Oxford University. After a chance meeting with the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi, Quick is invited to Saltburn, Catton’s eccentric family’s sprawling estate.
Despite a twist that is revealed towards the end, this does not have the deft plotting that its predecessor had. Once at Saltburn, the plot begins to drag a little as the awfulness of everyone involved becomes clear. I am sure that many will be put off by not having a single likeable character, but the performances are so good that I was able to overlook that to a degree. Keoghan is outstanding and Rosamund Pike has all the funniest lines as Felix’s Mum. Carey Mulligan appears briefly as a freeloading friend and both Richard E. Grant and Alison Oliver are good as the other members of Felix’s family.
It is handsomely shot by Linus Sandgren, and is pretty original, but not totally satisfying.
Rating: 6 out of 10