WARNING! This review will contain mentions of mature content as well as mild spoilers of the movie Saltburn. Read at your own discretion.

Saltburn, released in mid-November of 2023, is Emerald Fennell’s latest directorial endeavor. The movie follows Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, a young student at Oxford who is struggling to fit in with the popular crowd. Upset over Oliver’s difficult home life, Jacob Elordi’s charming and rich character, Felix, befriends the young man, inviting him to spend the summer at his family’s estate, Saltburn. What follows is a summer filled with fortune, fun, lust, and lies. 

In early December, many TikToks were posted that described Saltburn as a weird and intense film. People were leaving the theater in shock and disgust due to what they had seen. Now, for a dark comedy thriller with a hard R rating, we were not too shocked at the public outcry. On the drive to the theater, we had prepared ourselves for the worst. What were we going to watch? Were we going to leave the theater scarred like the people we’d seen online? Turns out we were going to be disappointed because, truly, the movie wasn’t as bad as people were making it seem. 

When we went to see Saltburn in theaters, barely any of our friends had even heard of the movie. Our expectations were high, yet we had also prepared ourselves for the inevitable wild ride we were about to experience. Going into the movie, we both thought it was going to be similar to Call Me By Your Name, a LGBTQIA+ romance with a dark twist. However, Saltburn was anything but that, with small themes of this unfound romance. The key to watching the movie was paying attention. The dialogue is quick and witty, and the accents in the film made certain characters hard to understand at some points. There was a lot of detail put into the costumes, sets, and background, so we could understand why many people were confused and scared off while watching. 

After watching Saltburn, we were both pleasantly surprised. It was a very interesting and intense film that took you on a rollercoaster of emotions. There were scenes of romance, scenes of violence, as well as scenes that were meant to make you feel uncomfortable. Our favorite scenes were ones of the main characters having fun and joking around throughout the Saltburn estate. It was a very different feel and pace to the rest of the movie. However, as people who experience strong second hand embarrassment it was very hard to watch at times.

Although we enjoyed it, we would not recommend this movie to many people. It is very graphic and has scenes with extreme adult themes and violence. The R rating is heavily needed for this film. Any other rating wouldn’t suffice, and we believe that viewers know that going in. We strongly suggest that you are sure you’re mature enough and are able to handle the dark topics present in Saltburn if you’re thinking of watching it. However, it was an amazing film and will be an instant cult classic. There were many iconic songs and scenes throughout the movie that have made a lasting impression on many people. If you are someone who believes you can handle such a film, we urge you to do your research before watching. Make sure that you will be able to handle a film of this nature and enjoy!