Saltburn: A Deceptive Love Story

I know, I know; I am late to the party on this one. But despite all the time that has passed since this film's release, I just watched it and felt an excruciating need to talk about it. Please, for the love of God, do not continue reading this unless you have seen the film.

Let’s begin...

I’m going to be completely honest in this blog post. I went into this film thinking it was going to be a raunchy, gay love story with kinky and freaky sexual acts around every corner. At least, that’s what the movie stills and TikTok posts about the film lead me to believe.

This film was a love story in the first half. I watched the movie and thought, “Oh yeah, I know where this is going.” I genuinely thought that the film was about Oliver being in love with Felix, and then having to cope with the loss after his death, which is what the movie wanted its viewers to think. With an unreliable narrator, this film did not go in the direction that I thought it would whatsoever, which is part of what makes this film so great.

As I watched the film, I began feeling bad for Oliver. He was a first-year student at university on a scholarship and seemed to be dealing with a lot in his personal life. Then, as the truth came out, I realized that Oliver was just a lying moth (I am obsessed with the moth metaphor by Venetia, by the way,) and this character completely lost his credibility with me. Then, when I thought had everything figured out, the end of the movie comes around, and I realized that Oliver wasn’t just lying so he could have a fun, lavish summer with some hot new friends; he wanted their fucking lives. This guy was a master manipulator. Despite how horrible this proved his character to be, it made me respect the character so much more. I mean, this guy was kind of a genius. Especially in the final scene of the film, I couldn’t help but celebrate along with the character. I didn’t want to root for him, but I couldn’t help but find some kind of twisted joy in the success of his masterminded plan.

In regards to “those things” in the movie, I didn’t think the things in the film that people were riled up about on social media were too bizarre. Did they make me uncomfortable? For sure. Have I seen worse things? Totally.

To conclude this review, this crazy film was a highlight of the year. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it soon enough to include it in my final review for the year, but had I seen it sooner, it most likely would have landed in my top ten.