This Tuesday, February 20, Télé Star invites you to watch a film that… will not leave you indifferent. And that’s the least we can say. This is Saltburn, a feature film available on Prime Video.
It’s a divisive film. Since its release on Prime Video in December 2023, Saltburn leave no one indifferent. The spectators denigrate him as much as they praise him. But why such heartbreak? To understand this, we must first return to the origins of this 2h07 feature film. This tells the story, in the mid-2000s, of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a student at Oxford University who struggles to find his place… Until he meets the hypnotic Felix Catton (aka Jacob Elordi who we have already seen in Euphoria). In no time, Oliver finds himself drawn into the crazy and aristocratic world of his friend, who decides to invite him to spend the summer at his family’s luxurious property, Saltburn. But this summer, Oliver will never be able to forget it. Between crazy parties, sex, drugs and luxury, this one turns into a nightmare.
The first seconds transport us with their beauty. We instantly fall in love with Félix. The return to reality is more gloomy. Oliver is not one of the popular ones. In Oxford, as elsewhere, there are on one side the rich, popular and beautiful and on the other, the others, in this case an average young man on a scholarship. It’s the clash of cultures. Still, Felix drags Oliver into his mode. It creates a certain ambiguity. If we feel that Oliver burns for Felix, it is impossible to know whether the converse is true or not. In Saltburn, Oliver meets his friend’s family: his parents, including Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), eager for gossip, his sister and his cousin with whom relations are strained. It’s a world of hypocrisy, false pretenses and false friendships.
These scenes from Saltburn which create a climate of embarrassment and disgust
What if the sneakiest of them wasn’t the one we thought? What if it was actually Oliver who was weaving his web around this family? We won’t say any more so as not to spoil it for you and let you discover for yourselves all the ins and outs of this feature film which should turn your brain. Or at the very least make you uncomfortable. All we can say is that power plays are numerous, and not always orchestrated by those we might imagine. If the first hour is nothing revolutionary, what happens afterwards is, however, much more interesting and intriguing. Above all, there is something unhealthy in the air. Certain scenes really create a climate of embarrassment and disgust.
Nevertheless, the aesthetics of this film can only be praised. Especially all the shots where Felix and Oliver are together, or even the final scene which is superb. There are beautiful plays of light. This is undoubtedly increased by Felix’s magnetism. Everyone only has eyes for Felix. Everyone wants him to be interested in his life. “Everyone puts on a show for Felix. Sorry if my performance leaves something to be desired“, Oliver tells him at a crucial moment in the film. But let’s say no more. It’s up to you to discover this film and form your own opinion.