Saltburn

Barry Keoghan might be on the verge of typecasting as an agent of chaos, but so long as it’s working, he might as well take every disturbing role he can get.

Playing a character strikingly similar to his Martin in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, the actor shines in Saltburn as Oliver Quick, an Oxford scholarship student who falls under the wing of the popular Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi, given far more to do than he did playing Elvis in Priscilla).

Their relationship is foregrounded by Oliver’s ambiguous yet troubling opening narration, complemented by a striking, quickly-edited montage of scenes to come — the first sign that writer/director Emerald Fennell’s follow-up to Promising Young Woman will be more ambitious on both the narrative and technical sides.

An outcast who struggles to fit in on campus, Oliver pines for acceptance while looking for any excuse to ditch amusingly repellant leech Michael (Ewan Mitchell, House of the Dragon). Though when the opportunity arises, compelling hurdles still await as Felix’s snotty American cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe, showing impressive range after his likable turn in Gran Turismo) attempts to undermine his entry into the elite group.

Not wanting to return home to his broken home for the summer, Oliver graciously accepts Felix’s invitation to spend the season at his family’s titular estate, and it’s there that the film both hits its stride and experiences its first stumbles.

Oliver’s integration into the well-to-do Catton clan proves immensely entertaining, particularly scenes with the full squad assembled. Along with Farleigh, Felix’s parents James (Richard E. Grant) and Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), and their tradition-minded butler Duncan (Paul Rhys, Vincent & Theo) make for a formidable upper-crust gatekeeping unit, and their awkward attempts at welcoming the outsider play out in cringingly funny fashion.

But when Carey Mulligan’s fellow guest — a troubled friend of Elspeth’s whom the latter calls (and the film credits as) Poor Dear Pamela — is present, Saltburn reaches peak class-clash dark comedic levels as she continually fails to get her hosts’ hints that they would please, if all possible, like her to leave.

As Poor Dear Pamela’s chapter comes to a close, Oliver’s truly begins, yet as he sinks his hooks into nearly every member of the family, there’s a fair amount of awkwardness as his sinister side randomly arises during an encounter with Venetia. Since audiences have seen Keoghan flip that switch in other films, the shift isn’t entirely unexpected, but it’s introduced here in a somewhat clumsy fashion that casts a thin shadow over the rest of the proceedings.

However, Fennell’s witty writing and overall grasp of craft — as well as the superb ensemble seeing her vision through — makes these rough spots easier to stomach. Delicious shades of The Talented Mr. Ripley are present in Oliver’s ladder-climbing actions, but also those cutthroat showbiz ambition tales like All About Eve and Showgirls. And while his Bond Villain narration is somewhat on-the-nose, good luck predicting to whom he’s delivering his “confession” and under what circumstances.

That ultimate reveal provides one last wickedly good treat and sends invested viewers off buzzing with twisted excitement from another Fennell winner.

Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: MGM/Amazon Studios)