The cinematic SALTBURN slowly simmers with wistful lustful longing by Oliver (Barry Keoghan) after Oxford classmate Felix (Jacob Elordi) through a school year until the end of the term. With the onset of summer and supposedly no where else to go, Felix, offers his new friend Oliver an invite to come stay with him at his family's home, Saltburn. Saltburn makes Downton Abbey look minuscule and shabby. Still, for everyone (me included) who enjoys rambling through English manors and observing the elite's stifling manner, this is the film for you. (And, me too.) The lady of the house, I mean the manor is Elsbeth Catton (the beautiful Rosamund Pike, played with an icy veneer) and the Lord of the manor is Sir James Canton (Richard Grant, "Game of Thrones"). The setting is stunning and the handsome actors are more than just pretty faces giving standout performances. Barry Keoghan who played a mentally challenged and abused son in "Banshees of Inisherin" has been nominated for an Acad. Award two Golden Globes and received a British Acad. Award is a talented actor and gives a beguiling portrayal of an obsequious outsider that soon makes himself at home in his opulent surroundings. Felix, born to wealth, accepts all the adoration bestowed because he feels himself as owed. Classmate, cousin and charity case to Felix is Farleigh (a fierce Archie Madekwe) a nemesis to Oliver until he becomes won over by Oliver's sexual overtures. The haunting cinematography, lush lifestyle portray a hedonistic hell that portends a comeuppance for all the luxuries and sensual pleasures partaken. Felix ventures off the grounds of Saltburn on the morning of Oliver's birthday with a surprise drive for a family visit with Oliver's estranged widowed mother. Oliver doth protest too much on the road to turn around but it's too late and his deceitfulness is soon revealed. Felix agrees not to disclose Oliver's lies to his mummy and father who've planned a Greek Gods/Goddesses themed birthday celebration. In the shards of the party's carnage, the body of the prodigal son is discovered. Stiff upper lip, there's still protocol and etiquette to be adhered. The numerous cringeworthy and salacious scenes in SALTBURN get under your skin. It's the kind of film that you'll be hooked into finishing once you've started watching to its disconcerting ending. Not a holiday crowd pleasure but a scintillating voyeuristic escapade.
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