(L to R) Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Actor, Producer Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw in ‘Wuthering Heights’, a Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
Inspired by Emily Brontë’s classic 1847 novel (thus the quotation marks around the title in the credits and marketing), Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ is not your mother’s well-read copy of the book. It’s not Laurence Olivier and William Wyler’s relatively faithful 1939 ‘Wuthering Heights’ either. Instead, it’s what you might call a remix of the Brontë tale, streamlined to focus almost exclusively on the relationship between Catherine ‘Cathy’ Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) and the enigmatic Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi), while stripping out much of the novel’s later narrative and ramping up the eroticism.
Maybe surprisingly, it works. Fennell (‘Promising Young Woman,’‘Saltburn’) has concocted a rich, full-bodied, almost classic film with gorgeous, windswept settings, an immersive atmosphere, and a chemistry between its two leads that practically fogs up the screen. No, it’s not particularly slavish to the text, but it’s a sweeping, epic tale of love, lust, vengeance, and forgiveness that crackles with passion and sexual energy.
When Catherine ‘Cathy’ Earnshaw is a little girl, her father – who fancies himself a generous man but is actually a gambling and alcohol addict with an abusive temper — takes in a street urchin named Heathcliff who becomes Cathy’s best friend and, in time, hopelessly devoted to her. Cathy and Heathcliff are seemingly bonded for life, much to the consternation of serving girl Nelly, who may have her own repressed feelings for Cathy.
As they grow older, Mr. Earnshaw becomes more dissolute and their estate – Wuthering Heights – falls further into disrepair. But while Heathcliff remains steadfastly true to Cathy, she has her eye on marrying the wealthy new neighbor, Edgar Linton, at the estate next door. When Heathcliff overhears her saying that she would ‘degrade’ herself by marrying her poor friend – despite the fact that she loves him dearly – he departs Wuthering Heights and doesn’t return for five years, during which time he makes his own fortune – and Cathy, although still desperately in love with Heathcliff, does in fact marry Linton.
Thus begins an escalating series of events as Cathy and Heathcliff first deny then ultimately give into their true passion, until their affair threatens to smash their lives and that of those around them to pieces. That’s when love and desire curdle into cruelty and psychological abuse, even as the illicit couple’s romance takes on epic, tragic proportions.
In adapting the novel, Fennell combines or discards characters, and leaves an entire generation of Lintons and Earnshaws off the playing field. In doing so, she shifts the focus from generational trauma squarely onto Cathy, Heathcliff, and their feelings for each other that are painfully romantic, bursting with unrestrained ardor, yet also torturously destructive. Through her exceptional lead actors and Fennell’s own grasp of how yearning can be physically and emotionally consuming, Cathy and Heathcliff’s desire practically oozes off the screen.
This probably wouldn’t be an Emerald Fennell film if she didn’t also make a little more explicit what could only be implicit in 1847. While there’s barely a glimpse of naked skin to be seen – which somehow makes it more erotic – multiple characters in the film indulge in the pleasures of the flesh and a bit more. In a relationship that blooms (if that’s the word) between two characters later in the film (fans of the book will know who we mean), some BDSM comes into play that adds a bit of unbridled perversity to the proceedings.
After following ‘Barbie’ with the misbegotten ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,’ Margot Robbie bounces back here with the kind of screen-filling, brave performance that she became known for early on. Her Cathy is irritating, self-pitying, calculating, and class-obsessed, yet also passionate, kind, loving, lustful, and heartbreaking – with Robbie delivering it all in a masterful balance of conflicting emotions and characteristics that make us feel every inch of Cathy’s titanic regret and desire.
Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff comes hard on the heels of his magnificent portrayal of the creature in ‘Frankenstein’ and is another triumph for this quickly developing actor. As with Robbie’s Cathy, Heathcliff is a man who contains multitudes: he’s feral, brutish, cunning, and capable of great cruelty, yet also charming, vulnerable, and aching with love, loss, and untold suffering. Elordi gives him not just an imposing physical presence, but a powerful emotional one as well, making this enigmatic character both alluring and frightening.
As for the rest of the main cast, Hong Chau is her usual magnificent self as Nelly, although the character’s often obscured motivations come across as murkier on the screen. But her own pain and sadness are evident throughout. Alison Oliver is an eerie Isabella, but Shazad Latif gets a bit of the short end of the stick as Linton, who never quite becomes much more than an emotional punching bag for the leads.
With Linus Sandgren’s breathtaking cinematography – which soars, climbs, and gallops through beautifully desolate, foggy, and craggy locations in Yorkshire — Anthony Willis’ haunting score, and even the needle drops from Charli XcX (which sound anachronistic on paper but work here) all adding texture and immersion to the proceedings, Emerald Fennell and her cast have devised a truly towering romance in ‘Wuthering Heights.’
Purists may grumble about certain aspects, but this is an adaptation based on a particular vision – a vision that adds a modern edge to a book that, while still universal in its themes, is now nearly two centuries old. Even if you don’t care personally for this extravagant, extraordinary film, it may introduce new generations to the source text – making Cathy and Heathcliff immortal all over again.
‘Wuthering Heights’ receives a score of 90 out of 100.
‘Wuthering Heights’ opens in theaters on February 13th.
What is the plot of ‘Wuthering Heights’?
In a crumbling estate on the West Yorkshire Moors, status-minded Catherine ‘Cathy’ Earnshaw and the mysterious Heathcliff pursue their tormented, passionate love for each other across the years, while wreaking havoc on both the Earnshaw family and their neighbors, the Lintons.
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Opening in theaters on December 6th, ‘The Order’ finds Jude Law starring in the based-on-truth story of a committed, troubled FBI agent who digs into reports of a white supremacist group changing their tactics and led by charismatic individual.
We’re not short of stories that have their roots in real life, this one shapes up to be particularly intriguing, partly because, despite its 1980s setting, it has resonance in today’s particularly divided political world.
Nicholas Hoult in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Australian director Justin Kerzel has made it something of a specialty bringing based-on-truth movies to screens, though often with a twist. Here, he lets the persuasive, tough real-life story do most of the heavy lifting, casting well and letting all the main players be layered rather than stereotypical examples of, say, white supremacists or FBI agents.
Yes, there are some expected moments, but for the most part, Kurzel and his creative team keep you engaged with a screenplay that crackles with energy and tension, driven by some stellar acting.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Director Justin Kurzel and Jude Law on the set of ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
The script for ‘The Order’ comes from Zach Baylin (who has had mixed fortunes of late –– solid success with ‘King Richard,’ but he also contributed to recent huge flop ‘The Crow’), here adapting Kevin Flynn’s book ‘The Silent Brotherhood.’
He finds the right notes to hit following a dogged investigator drawn into something truly malicious in a small town, crafting characters based on the real people who feel like lived-in humans with their foibles intact.
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Kurzel brings that script to life with style and panache, but no little sense of the gritty life some of these people lead, but also relishing the beautiful Pacific Northwest backdrops against which some terrible acts take place. As the plot begins to deepen and twist, he keeps it all on track, getting fine work out of his cast and making sure to stay grounded.
If there’s a criticism to be found it is that, like some other recent movies, it occasionally feels flabby, but once the characters are back to figuring each other out, the interest level soon picks back up.
Performances
Jude Law as Terry Husk
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Husk is well-named, since when we meet him, he’s on the verge of being a husk of a man; burned out by the job and with his family hanging on by a thread. Yet he’s also devoted and passionate about tracking down the violent criminals at the heart of the film and Law finds the right take-no-BS attitude to bring him to life.
This is far from a noble knight in shining armor, more a dedicated public servant frustrated by those around him and not afraid to let that show in encounters with cops and fellow agents.
Nicholas Hoult in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Hoult’s fresh-faced charisma works well for Matthews, the devious yet charming white supremacist who inspires others to terrible deeds while also carrying out some of his own.
You won’t sympathize with the man’s ideals, but you will understand while people would be willing to follow him, and Hoult is great at both his violent extremes and the quieter moments he shares with family (and, er lover, who is expecting his child.)
Tye Sheridan in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
The local deputy who has his own reasons for A) loathing the white supremacists who have invaded his town and B) frustrations at the lack of progress in dealing with them before Husk shows up is a great counterpoint to both the FBI agent and Matthews.
Sheridan pitches him well as both eager but also wary.
Supporting Cast
Jurnee Smollett in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Jurnee Smollett certainly gets her share of standout moments as Joanne Carney, the FBI agent who takes over leading the case and clashes with Husk’s more forceful approach as hers tends to favor a by-the-book approach.
Likewise Alison Oliver and Odessa Young, who play Matthews’ wife and lover respectively; both have believable chemistry with Hoult and are convincing in their roles. Veteran character Victor Slezak, meanwhile, makes the most of a smaller role as hate-spewing (but less violent-leaning than Matthews church leader Richard Butler, who becomes key to the case on both sides.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Jude Law and Jurnee Smollett in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
It might not be quite up there with Kurzel’s best true-crime offerings, but ‘The Order’ certainly has a lot to recommend it if you’re a fan of tenacious law enforcement officers trying to take down a threat that impacts locally but promises to affect the country as a whole.
And given the state of the nation, culture and politics in particular, it has a lot to say about how hatred curdles into violence and what we all need to be more careful of spotting in our own communities.
‘The Order’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
kh7YMsoVuH8yA9GcPPMU9
What’s the plot of ‘The Order’?
In 1983, a series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations and armored car heists frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest.
As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Jude Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe the crimes were not the work of traditional, financially motivated criminals but a group of dangerous domestic terrorists, inspired by a radical, charismatic leader (Nicholas Hoult), plotting a devastating war against the federal government of the United States.
After making a striking feature debut in 2020 with ‘Promising Young Woman,’ a bracing if sometimes heavy-handed stew of revenge thriller, psychological drama, black comedy, and feminist messaging, writer-director Emerald Fennell returns with ‘Saltburn.’ Like her first, ‘Saltburn’ is a hybrid of several genres, including satire, mystery, erotic thriller, and class-based drama. While it may not offer anything substantially new beyond its gorgeous visuals and pulsing rhythms, it will lock you into its spell thanks to its sharp tone and a sumptuous cast, with Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, and Carey Mulligan all at the top of their game.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick and Archie Madekwe as Farleigh in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
As ‘Saltburn’ begins, we meet Oliver Quick (Keoghan), a lonely, awkward, and clearly fashion-deficient new student at Oxford who yearns to somehow integrate himself with the cool kids, and become friends – and perhaps more – with their leader, the effortlessly charismatic, beautiful, and privileged Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Circumstances provide Oliver with just that opportunity, and soon he and Felix do indeed become friends – despite the misgivings of fellow student and Felix’s cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe).
Seemingly genuinely empathetic toward Oliver and the tragic family life he shares, Felix invites the young man to spend the summer with him and his family at their palatial estate, Saltburn. Once there, Oliver meets Felix’s imperious yet insipid mother Elspeth (Pike), who runs the household with an iron fist yet revels in memories of her days as a model and A-lister. Also there is Felix’s permanently distracted, one-sandwich-short-a-picnic father James (Grant), his sexually available yet troubled sister Venetia (Oliver), Farleigh, and a dissolute family friend known as Poor Dear Pamela (Carey Mulligan).
The brooding, maze-like house (complete with massive hedge maze out back), its sinister head of staff Duncan (Paul Rhys), the ever-present servants, and the play of light and shadow throughout Saltburn’s mahogany-walled corridors provide a classic archetype of the British country estate, almost always with a secret or five hidden within its overbearing walls. Fennell sets up a somewhat standard class conflict, with the Cattons – who never want for anything but are all damaged and oblivious in their own ways – eager to put a little charge into their own semi-vacant lives by bestowing luxury and decadence upon Oliver. Yet they never realize how condescending and dismissive they are (“She’d do anything for attention,” sniffs Elspeth upon learning of a friend’s suicide), and even the kind-hearted Felix can turn on a dime from compassionate to selfish.
Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Yet, as one might suspect fairly early on, things aren’t quite what they seem at Saltburn, and the story takes some twists and turns in its second half that are best left undiscussed here. With a bacchanalian birthday party for Oliver at the center of the action, events take a darker turn that may be somewhat predictable from the start – think ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ and another Keoghan starrer, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ — but are nonetheless compelling to watch thanks to Fennell’s expert direction and her brilliant cast.
The third act of ‘Saltburn’ is where Fennell might lose some viewers, as certain reveals are telegraphed pretty clearly, a few plot points stretch credibility, and most importantly, the movie struggles with its point of view. While ‘Saltburn’ may for most of its running time seem to be a scathing indictment of lifestyles of the rich and not-really-famous, its concluding scenes are far more ambivalent about who we’re empathizing with.
(L to R) Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
The casting for ‘Saltburn’ is superb up and down the board, starting with lead actor Barry Keoghan. The Irish actor is known for his breakout role in ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer,’ as well as his Oscar-nominated turn in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ his role as Druig in Marvel’s ‘Eternals,’ and his eerie cameo as the Joker in ‘The Batman.’
In his first major lead, Keoghan is nothing short of riveting. His Oliver Quick is enigmatic, unsettling, and off-putting in an amorphous way, and Keoghan – who takes several bold, big swings throughout the film – keeps the audience off balance for most of the movie. Even when you have his number, the actor is so magnetic to watch that you don’t take your eyes off him.
Equally fantastic is Rosamund Pike, who continues the red-hot career streak that started in 2014 with ‘Gone Girl,’ and has encompassed films like ‘Hostiles’ and ‘I Care a Lot.’ Her Elspeth is perfectly repulsive yet hilarious, spewing out inappropriate opinions no one asked for (“I have a complete and utter horror of ugliness ever since I was very young”), vain enough to think that she singlehandedly inspired an entire British music scene, and making sure that lunch is served on time even in the wake of tragedy. Elspeth is a monster, and Pike plays her with an exquisite, complete lack of self-awareness.
Beyond Keoghan and Pike, Jacob Elordi’s Felix continues the Australian actor’s terrific year after his outstanding work as Elvis Presley in ‘Priscilla,’ both performances fueled by his physical presence and formidable good looks but utterly different in their emotional tone. Richard E. Grant is reliably amusing as always, and ‘Promising Young Woman’ star Carey Mulligan has a brief, darkly hilarious turn as Poor Dear Pamela, an utterly lost soul who manages to maintain her own distinct fashion sense.
Production Design, Editing and Music
‘Saltburn’ opens in theaters on November 22nd. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
‘Saltburn’ is a gorgeous film, from the beautiful young bodies on display both at Oxford and the Catton family home to the latter itself, an ostentatious, labyrinthine monster of a house that can blaze with sensual color or plunge into claustrophobic shadows within the space of one vast room.
There is a hedge maze that can put that of the Overlook Hotel to shame, sprawling fields and lawns where one might stumble across a nude sunbather, and other surprises all brought to vivid life by production designer Suzie Davies and cinematographer Linus Sandgren, who make ‘Saltburn’ into a decadent visual meal. They are aided and abetted by costume designer Sophie Canale, whose work here ranges from Oliver’s initially drab study hall duds to Elspeth’s shimmering, slinky dresses and Venetia’s seductive see-through nightwear.
All this is tied together and seamlessly paraded before the viewer’s eyes by the sure hand of editor Victoria Boydell, who works with Fennell to give Saltburn both a languid, lazy pace of life in some scenes and an urgent, throbbing rhythm in others, especially the centerpiece of Oliver’s birthday party.
The film’s music is key as well, with Anthony Willis’ sultry score pulsating along to the same rhythms as the film and highlighting the story’s complex psychological and sexual dynamics. Complementing Willis’ work is a series of tight needle drops from the mid-2000s (in which the film is set), including cuts from Bloc Party, MGMT, the Killers, and for the jaw-dropping final scene, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor.”
Is ’Saltburn’ An Oscar Contender?
Rosamund Pike as Lady Elsbeth Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Emerald Fennell won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for ‘Promising Young Woman,’ which was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Editing. While ‘Saltburn’ may not rise to the level of Best Picture, and Fennell won’t make the cut in what looks like an already mostly locked Best Director race, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (for Barry Keoghan), and either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress for Rosamund Pike seem like possible nods for the film.
Keoghan delivers a tour de force, as we mentioned above, and Pike is equally sensational, but with less screen time we might see her compete for Best Supporting instead. ‘Saltburn’ should easily compete in the categories for Production Design, Costume Design, and Editing as well, and may score a few wins in those fields even if it doesn’t land any of the bigger trophies of the night – unless the raunchier aspects of the film turn off some of the more staid Academy voters altogether.
Final Thoughts
Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Yes, it’s derivative of other films and arguably not as clever or surprising as it thinks it is, but we had a blast watching ‘Saltburn’ nonetheless. As we said earlier, it’s sumptuous to look at, backed with great music, and features one of the best ensemble casts we’ve seen in a film this year – with Barry Keoghan once again proving himself to be one of the finest rising young actors of his generation. The movie may not be especially shocking (well, maybe a little) but it’s certainly perverse in a gleeful way, and Emerald Fennell manages to keeps us entertained and even a bit titillated for two hours.
‘Saltburn’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
c0ev1JoVm2Kc8enPiSfue7
What is the plot of ‘Saltburn’?
Lonely new Oxford student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), desperate to make friends, is drawn into the social circle of popular, rich, and powerfully attractive Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). When Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at Saltburn, the Catton family’s country estate, Oliver finds himself in the midst of a truly eccentric family whose wealth and privilege mask the emptiness of their existence – until Oliver is added into the mix.
Who is in the cast of ‘Saltburn’?
Barry Keoghan (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’) as Oliver Quick
Oliver manages to work his way into Felix’s good graces – and empathy – and wins himself an invite to spend the summer at Felix’s family estate, Saltburn. There, Oliver meets Felix’s imperious mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), absent-minded father James (Richard E. Grant), and troubled yet sexually available sister Venetia (Alison Oliver).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending a virtual press conference for ‘Saltburn.’ Taking part in the two-part Q&A were star Rosamund Pike, writer-director Emerald Fennell, and producer Josey McNamara.
Here are 10 things we learned from the ‘Saltburn’ virtual press conference, edited for clarity and length.
1) Emerald Fennell First Came Up with the Character of Oliver Quick Years Ago
(Center) Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
The film’s ostensible protagonist, Oliver Quick, is a slippery persona to grab hold of. He’s awkward and lonely yet also much more manipulative than he first lets on. He’s also a working-class bloke who is exposed to an entirely different way of life at Saltburn, and that almost certainly has an effect on him. In some ways, according to Fennell, he’s the audience.
Emerald Fennell: Oliver feels incredibly relatable to me. He kind of announced himself about seven or eight years ago, kind of persistently. He’s sort of an imaginary friend. He was just there all the time, and I couldn’t get him out of my head. It’s no accident to me, I think, that I finished writing this during COVID, because if Oliver’s anything, as well as being the person he is, this is a film about looking constantly and not being able to touch, and what it does to you if you’re not allowed to touch the thing you want to touch. We were living in a world where we could only look at each other through screens, that we were constantly voyeuristic, that we were absorbing things that couldn’t see us back. So I think that for me, Oliver seems to be all of us, really. Yes, he’s an outsider. Yes, he’s a person driven by love and desire and all of those things. But he’s also trying to scratch an itch that just cannot be sated. It can’t be scratched. So what do you do? You scratch your skin till you get down to the bone. You do it till it hurts.
2) Barry Keoghan Was Willing to Go to Any Lengths
Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
From ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ to ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ not to mention his eerie cameo as a certain Clown Prince of Crime in ‘The Batman,’ Barry Keoghan has taken on a slew of provocative roles in his still-young career. But his first lead, in ‘Saltburn,’ may be his boldest performance yet.
Emerald Fennell: [Barry] is a force of nature. Barry is like lightning in a bottle. It’s a very unique and specific talent that he has. The thing that you’re always looking for is that element of surprise. The texture of a performance as much as the texture of, you know, the couch they’re sitting on. That is something that is really important, and what I love is things and people that go against the grain. That’s what Barry does. We as humans are not consistent characters. We have our own idiosyncrasies. We respond to things surprisingly. We are turned on by the things that we don’t like, and we’re disgusted by the things we should [like]. That’s this movie, and that’s what Barry does.
Rosamund Pike: Barry’s a maverick. He has so many different temperatures. And you never quite know what you’re going to get.
3) About Barry’s Nude Dance Scene…
Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
We won’t give away too much to avoid spoilers, but Barry Keoghan does a nude dance through Saltburn to the tune of Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ that is a guaranteed showstopper (and jaw-dropper).
Emerald Fennell: The scene was always from the beginning going to be a complicated, technical, and precise thing, because it’s the inverse of Felix’s tour at the beginning. So technically, it was always going to be precise. And it’s absolutely about making sure that somebody feels safe and relaxed and all of that sort of thing. We had Polly Bennett, who is an unbelievably talented choreographer. She does a lot of movement as well as dance — she did ‘Elvis‘ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ and ‘The Crown,’ all those sorts of things. What I was really looking for was something that felt spontaneous, that felt loose enough that it was a kind of burst of evil joy that we could really relate to, but that also had enough kind of precision that it just didn’t feel messy. And the thing with Barry, again, that is so wonderful is that when he gets it, he gets it. When you say to him, “I don’t think the end can be a naked walk through the house, I think it needs to be a dance to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor,’” Barry just says, “Yeah.”
4) Carey Mulligan Insisted on Playing Poor Dear Pamela Even Though She’s Only in Three Scenes
(L to R) Carey Mulligan, Emerald Fennell, and Laverne Cox on the set of ‘Promising Young Woman.’
After giving a bravura, Oscar-nominated performance as the lead of Fennell’s first film, ‘Promising Young Woman,’ Carey Mulligan collaborates with the director again for ‘Saltburn,’ this time in the relatively small role of Poor Dear Pamela, a dissolute friend of the Cattons who’s staying at Saltburn while she tries to put her life back together.
Emerald Fennell: She’s an extraordinary person and the most gifted actress. I sent her the script just as my friend, you know, once it was finished. I wanted to talk to her about it. She immediately called me up and said, “I have to be Poor Dear Pamela.” I was like, “You’re only in three scenes.” She was like, “I don’t care.” You know, the thing is, you have a shorthand. You have the trust built in. Then the thing about Carey, the thing about Poor Dear Pamela is she’s an unbelievably important character in this film because she could so easily be an object of derision. She’s treated so abominably. She’s the person who knows she’s outstayed her welcome and has nowhere to go, so has to suffer the indignity of their derision every day. Carey is so gifted as a comic actress, it is such a genius comic performance, but it is also one of the most devastating, kind of poignant ones. She’s the human collateral, I think, of this family.
Carey Mulligan in ‘Promising Young Woman’
Josey McNamara: She is incredibly gifted comedically, which I don’t think she gets credit for enough, and willing to go and to be transformative as well. I think with this role, it’s such a small amount of time that we had her, but she threw herself into it in terms of how she changed her appearance and the little details with the tattoos and all the different things she brought to it. She really wanted to kind of push outside of the box with it.
5) ‘Saltburn’ Was the First Film Allowed to Shoot at the Real British Estate That Fennell Discovered
‘Saltburn’ opens in theaters on November 22nd. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Although the filmmakers are not allowed to identify the location by name, ‘Saltburn’ was shot primarily at Drayton House, a vast country estate in the East Midlands of England. Constructed in the early 14th century, the house has been owned by the same family for generations. Nothing had ever been filmed there before, which made it perfect for Saltburn.
Josey McNamara: The house is actually the first thing that Emerald and I spoke about, I think, after I read the script. We had the conversation about how important it was we find somewhere that had never been seen before and that would feel original to people and fresh. It was also incredibly important that we had somewhere that we could organically move throughout so we had a fluidity to the way we could shoot the movie. I think Emerald was the one who actually managed to kind of find the house and have all the original conversations, so thank God she managed to do that. I think it really allowed us to embed ourselves with the family, have everyone set themselves up in their characters, and also for the crew to kind of grow with the movie as well and everyone to get to know each other. It allowed us to shoot things in as much story order as possible so people could kind of grow into their characters, grow into the feeling of the movie. It allowed us to feel where the tension was in the movie and adjust and react. We got incredibly lucky with the family who owned the house, and they were really phenomenal with us and became a part of the crew themselves.
‘Saltburn’ opens in theaters on November 22nd. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Rosamund Pike: I had opted to stay in the house itself, and I thought, oh, have I made a terrible mistake? Just like that line in the movie, ‘many people get lost in Saltburn.’ I was like, I’m never leaving, because the grounds are huge and I don’t have a car. I’m stuck here.’ It was kind of mad and intense. But it was a wonderful decision because the family were so generous. I had a bedroom in the house [but] I never saw all the rooms in the house. I mean, there were whole staircases I never even entered upon. Whatever you’re picturing as to the scale of this house, just quadruple it.
6) Margot Robbie is Not Just a Producer on the Film, But Was a Driving Force Behind It
Actor/Producer Margot Robbie attends the ‘Barbie’ Press Junket Photo Call at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Photo by Eric Charbonneau.
Actors get producing credits on films all the time. But in the case of ‘Saltburn,’ ‘Barbie’ superstar Margot Robbie, her husband, Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara produced the movie through their LuckyChap company, and Robbie was very much involved in its creation.
Emerald Fennell: She’s the greatest ever. She’s exceptional. The company that she runs with these guys is unbelievable. She produced ‘Promising Young Woman’ as well as ‘Saltburn.’ I really honestly never want to work with anyone else. Josey, Margot, Tom, they’re all incredible. What’s so remarkable about what she does and what they’re doing is that they have proved, this year more than any, that subversive, smart, complicated, difficult movies can make a serious amount of money, and can be hugely popular. Everyone said, for example, that ‘Barbie’ was unmakeable. ‘Promising Young Woman,’ lots of people wanted to change it, make it more palatable, make it more marketable, or what they perceived would be those things, and Margot and Josey and LuckyChap said absolutely not. They’re resolute. They know what they’re doing. She’s a powerhouse. She’ll take over. They’ll take over, and then they’ll dance on the embers of Hollywood and build it into a nice, beautiful, pink palace. You can count on it.
7) Rosamund Pike Prepared for Her Role by Reading Magazines From 2007
Rosamund Pike as Lady Elsbeth Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Rosamund Pike says she’s met people like Elspeth and prepared for the role by immersing herself in the kinds of things that the matriarch of Saltburn would do.
Rosamund Pike: My research for this role was quite intense. Because Elspeth does absolutely nothing. So it was very important for me to clear my decks. Go on vacation, sit by a pool, decide what swimsuit to wear, order a few cocktails, and order some magazines on eBay from 2007 — it’s not that easy — and read them. As Elspeth, think about all the people who are in the magazines who weren’t her. Because her vanity knows no bounds. That was preparation. I definitely have [met people like Elspeth] — growing up in the UK, and at various times being in those sort of milieus — people who’ve made me uncomfortable [laugh]. For all those times when I’ve been made to feel uncomfortable, it was a kind of payback. You know, the people who you don’t quite know what you’ve done wrong, but you know that there’s something about you that doesn’t fit…I’ve been around it. All the bizarre ways in which the English have this codified social behavior, and nobody tells you what the code is. You certainly know when you break a rule, but you don’t quite know what it is.
8) Emerald Fennell Insisted That the Cast Hang Out Together
(L to R) Alison Oliver as Venetia Catton, Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick and Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Much of the time on a movie, the cast members will scatter to their dressing rooms or trailers in between takes or setups. But with the ‘Saltburn’ cast members all supposed to be family (or their inner circle), Emerald Fennell wanted them to spend as much time together as possible.
Rosamund Pike: One thing is that Emerald insists that nobody goes off set into their own kind of world while we’re shooting. You know, there’s no kind of retreating to a trailer or a dressing room or something. She wants everybody to hang out in the same space. So, we had a kind of sitting room in the house that was our green room. And everybody was there. Everybody. From the family to the guys playing the footmen, and Paul Rhys playing the butler, Duncan. So I think that’s one thing. We laughed a lot. We just laughed. We played games, played cards, and played kind of silly word games. My children were around, which is a great icebreaker for everybody. They played with everybody. Just having children on set takes your mind off things. There was a very familial atmosphere. It’s this curious thing where you’re comfortable, and companionable, and very at ease in one another’s company. But nobody really knows how one another is feeling. It’s a very odd thing in these families. The same is when we did sort of, like, little montage things of all of us one evening just watching ‘The Ring.’ They put ‘The Ring’ on the telly, and that was it. We just sat and watched ‘The Ring’…we kept having these things to do as a family that sort of brought us together.
9) The Party Scene Got Very Intense
‘Saltburn’ opens in theaters on November 22nd. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
The centerpiece of the film’s second half is a costumed birthday party that the Cattons throw for Oliver at Saltburn, a huge bash that gets quite debauched. Apparently it got a little bit that way in real life as well.
Rosamund Pike: The party was so extreme. I mean, even the extras, you know, started hooking up with each other. It was that kind of environment where you felt like anything could happen, and you almost forget you were making a film. It felt that you were at a kind of three-day festival or something. To the point where, I had finished my role because Elspeth was sort of retiring to bed. Then I went back to the place we had for hair and makeup, and I saw this enormous, feathered headdress on the wall. I said, “You know what? I don’t think Elspeth would go to bed. I think she’d put that headdress on, put her dressing gown on, and go back to the party.” So, that’s what I did. [laugh] There’s this shot where they’re dancing to techno later in the night, and you just see this kind of feathered headdress and these sunglasses, and that’s Elspeth up by the DJ probably, you know? I just felt that’s what she’d do.
10) Jacob Elordi Blew Away Both Rosamund Pike and Emerald Fennell
(L to R) Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
‘Euphoria’ star Jacob Elordi is having one hell of a year: he’s not only garnering raves for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla,’ but the young Australian nails the pivotal role of Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’
Emerald Fennell: He’s absolutely amazing. In many ways, Felix is the hardest part in this movie because he’s sort of the emotional center. He’s put immediately on a pedestal by not just Oliver, but the film, so it was about finding someone who had this unbelievably magnetic charm and charisma, but who was also sort of a gifted actor who understood that this person is still a person, still just a guy. That is profoundly what Jacob did. He came in and he gave this performance for his screen test, and it was exactly what I was looking for, which was that he was kind of mortal. He looked like a god, but he’s mortal.
(L to R) Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
Rosamund Pike: Emerald had said that she’d cast this incredibly handsome Australian. I thought, “Well, how’s that going to work?” Then she said, “No, no. He came in and he read, and it just blew us all away.” I still thought, “Yeah, but how is he going to capture the specificity of this English public school boy?” Then I was in L.A., and I met him, and we went for lunch. I was kind of oblivious to quite what a massive star he is. So, of course, poor guy, we were constantly besieged by people coming up to talk to him. He was very gracious and kind. But I realized in that meeting that he’s the real deal. That he’s a proper actor who puts the work in… what he does in the film, for me, is totally astonishing. He gets it pitch perfect.
c0ev1JoVm2Kc8enPiSfue7
What is the plot of ‘Saltburn’?
Lonely new Oxford student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), desperate to make friends, is drawn into the social circle of popular, rich, and powerfully attractive Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). When Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at Saltburn, the Catton family’s country estate, Oliver finds himself in the midst of a truly eccentric family whose wealth and privilege mask the emptiness of their existence – until Oliver is added into the mix.
Who is in the cast of ‘Saltburn’?
Barry Keoghan (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’) as Oliver Quick
(L to R) Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick, Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton and Alison Oliver as Venetia Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.
