La Vie Not Rose

From the first trailer, this movie got me hooked. All cast members had been in some show or movie I enjoyed, and the satirical tone from the trailer, plus a director whose debut film I adored and thought was completely original in its narrative and profundity (Promising Young Woman), made of Saltburn probably my most awaited film at the end of 2023.

The internet and Gen Z’s obsession with TikTok spoiled it for me. I hate it when it’s so subtly explicit (if that could be a thing) that with just some repetitive hints, it ruins the most important parts of a film; I remembered when Lalaland’s ending plot twist was so talked about that even without exactly knowing what was going to happen, by the time Mia gets into the bar I knew who she had chosen to be with #sad.

I’ve seen a lot of comments talking about Saltburn being a ripoff or a wanna-be version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, but having watched that film recently, I think they just play in another league. The drama and intensity of The Talented… it’s not what Saltburn tries to display; it’s just not the same.

Saltburn is playful and explores other types of pleasures and needs in its main characters; even if we’re mainly focusing on Oliver, there is enough time for the other family members to have their moment to shine; would have been amazing to enjoy the beautiful photography and art direction at the cinema.

Aside from Jacob Elordi’s enormous popularity (I really enjoyed his performance in this film, mainly because I got rid of his twisted character of Euphoria), you can truly take this family as one to remember. The naughty chemistry shown throughout the film added to my admiration for Rosamund Pike Carey Mulligan and Richard E. Grant.

Saltburn is sassy, fun, and provocative… for a specific audience; I would dare to say that it is in the same way as Marvel movies are appealing to just certain types of public and is not a boring audience in any way; it is just that we have different interests.

Also, I’m sure the director (Emerald Fennell) knew who she was talking to. It is not revolutionary for cinema, but I perfectly see it as a first approach to certain types of movies for a teenager nowadays, same as it happened to me with The Virgin Suicides. I thought of it as a masterpiece, and also everyone at my Middle School, and it lasted like 10 years. Or more if we take in count the amount of books Sophia Coppola has sold in the past months.

This director is building her universe, and to be honest, I’m excited to see more of it.

*Spoilers*

The film gave me a good feeling even with its very structured and intended darkness. I don’t know if it is Sophie Ellie’s Bextor iconic song closing, the «triumph» and «easy» conversion of the lead to a villain, the general feeling of being back in 2008 because I’m 34 years old, so obviously, I felt an enormous déjà vu through Arcade Fire playing casually on a bar… I liked that feeling, which may be shared with just certain portions of my demographic, and that is the whole point of a satisfying (whichever way you want to take it from this film) cinematic experience, isn’t it?