SALTBURN : Tuesday 21st November 2023

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'SALTBURN' at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this psychological thriller drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Emerald Fennell in her second feature film outing following the highly acclaimed 'Promising Young Woman' in 2020 which reaped 116 award wins and another 193 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival in late August and was released in the US, the UK and here in Australia last week having so far generated mostly favourable reviews and grossed US$1.7M at the Box Office. 

The films open up in 2006 with a collar, tie and blazer wearing Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) walking across the quad at Oxford University and into his ground floor dormitory as a first year freshman. He is looked upon with some disdain by many of the other jeans and T-shirt wearing students, some of which mildly abuse his attire. On his first night over dinner in the packed refectory he struggles to find a place to sit, and ends up opposite another equally displaced student Michael Gavey (Ewan Mitchell) who introduces himself as another 'Nigel Nofriends'. Oliver observes Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a charming, handsome, popular and clearly very well off student, who is attending Oxford with his American cousin, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), and who happens to be attending the same college. 

One day just before the summer break of 2007 Oliver lends Felix his bicycle so Felix can attend a class to which he is already running ten minutes late, as Felix's own bicycle has a punctured wheel. Felix is extremely grateful. As a result of this gesture, the two become fast friends and is invited into Felix's and Farleigh's inner circle of friends, which sees Oliver turn his back on Michael. Oliver becomes increasingly obsessed with Felix. Oliver tells Felix he is an only child with an alcoholic mother and a drug dependent father, and grew up in Prescot, near Liverpool. One day he announces that his father has suddenly died. Oliver's story garners Felix's sympathy, and so he invites Oliver to spend the summer with him and Farleigh at Saltburn, his wealthy family's sprawling estate in the country. Oliver accepts, albeit reluctantly at first.

Oliver arrives at Saltburn where he is greeted by the Butler of the house, Duncan (Paul Rhys), and after a whistle stop tour of the household Felix introduces him to his father, Sir James (Richard E. Grant), his mother, Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), and his sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver). Also at Saltburn is 'Poor Dear' Pamela (Carey Mulligan), Elspeth's friend, whom the family believes has now outstayed her welcome and actively encourage her to leave when she reveals that she has rented a new flat. Despite the family's initial eccentricities and over indulgent living standards, Oliver clearly relishes his time at Saltburn. Oliver begins lying to curry favour with the family so they can grow even more fond of him, firstly implying to Elspeth that Pamela made up her bizarre, tragic stories for the attention it brought her. Later in the summer, the family learns that Pamela has died, though Elspeth in nonplussed by the news.

Late one evening Oliver secretly watches Felix masterbating while taking a bath in their shared bathroom to which their bedrooms both adjoin. After Felix has brushed his teeth and bid his friend goodnight, Oliver drinks the last of the draining water from the bathtub and licks the plughole clean. Another night, he sees Venetia outside his bedroom window wearing a see through night gown. He performs oral sex on Venetia despite it being her time of the month to which Oliver retorts that its just as well he's a vampire. Farleigh observes this from his bedroom window overlooking the gardens. Farleigh tells Felix who is upset with Oliver, since a former friend of Felix's had also slept with Venetia last summer. Oliver convinces him that Farleigh was lying and that he was only comforting the moody Venetia, who he claims is interested in him. Later, Oliver overhears an argument between Felix and Farleigh over the latter milking Sir James' for financial support for his university studies. On another occasion during a party with a karaoke machine, Farleigh retaliates by tricking Oliver into performing the Pet Shop Boys song 'Rent' (whose lyrics mirror Oliver's current situation at Saltburn) to everyone. Later that night, Oliver threatens Farleigh and initiates a sexual encounter. The next morning, Farleigh is asked to leave Saltburn when he is said to have attempted to sell rare ceramic antique plates from Sir James' collection to Sotheby's. 

With Oliver's birthday approaching Elspeth and Sir James plan a fancy dress party for two hundred or so guests to celebrate. On the morning of his birthday Felix surprises Oliver with a road trip. Upon nearing their destination Oliver panics when Felix tells him that they are going to see his mother in Prescot in an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. However, it is revealed that Oliver's family lives in the upper-middle-class suburbs, his father is alive and very well, both his parents are kind and not substance abusers, and he is not an only child and in fact has two sisters. Felix is mortified by Oliver's deception, telling him to leave after the party that evening, while Oliver states that he only lied so Felix would be his friend. That evening, the party commences at Saltburn with numerous guests in attendance, including Farleigh, who threatens Oliver. Inside Saltburn's maze, Oliver attempts to reconcile with Felix, but Felix outright rejects him. The next morning, Felix is found dead in the maze.

Oliver and the Catton family mourn Felix's death, but Elspeth and Sir James try to put a brave face on the matter. Sir James cuts Farleigh off from his financial support, saying that he will not inform the Police but that is the last thing he will do for him, and forces him to leave Saltburn for good when Oliver suggests that Farleigh doing lines of coke at the party last night contributed to Felix's death. After Felix's funeral, Oliver privately breaks down as he strips down and penetrates Felix's newly dug gravesite in the driving rain. When Elspeth demands Oliver stay at Saltburn, Venetia later confronts him when Oliver barges in on her while she is taking a bath. It dawns on her that he has successfully latched himself onto her family and that Felix's death was a result. Venetia is found dead the following morning having apparently slashed her wrists in the bathtub, leaving Elspeth and Sir James in further despair. Fearing that Elspeth is growing too attached to him and becoming suspicious of his insistence on staying, Sir James opens his cheque book and asks Oliver how much does he want to leave Saltburn. Oliver responds that he can't leave Elspeth while she needs him most, but Sir James is insistent, and Oliver leaves having agreed a price. 

A number of years later and Oliver reads about the recent death of Sir James in the newspaper. Sometime shortly afterwards and Oliver is sat in a cafe typing away at his laptop when Elspeth walks in to buy a takeaway coffee. They are both surprised to see each other and Elspeth comments to Oliver how grown up he is and how pleasing it is to see him again. Oliver gives his condolences to Elspeth over the passing of her husband to which she responds that he never really recovered following the death of Felix and Venetia. She urges him to return with her her to Saltburn. 

Soon afterwards and Elspeth becomes fatally ill. On her deathbed, looking very proud of himself, Oliver reveals that he was responsible for all the tragic events that have fallen upon Saltburn having orchestrated his initial meeting with Felix, Oliver then murdered him by poisoning the bottle of Champagne that he drank from that night in the maze. He also subtly manipulated Venetia into killing herself by placing razor blades on the side of her bath, and sent the email that resulted in Farleigh's fast exit from Saltburn. Finally, he planned his encounter with Elspeth in the cafe, with flashbacks revealing that she subsequently left all of her financial assets to Oliver, including ownership of Saltburn. Oliver then kills Elspeth by forcefully removing her life support tube. Having now taken over the Saltburn estate and the Catton fortune and seemingly dismissed the Butler, maids and footmen, Oliver dances naked around the house to 'Murder on the Dancefloor' by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. 

'Saltburn' is a slow-burn thriller about those born with not one but two silver spoons firmly planted in their mouths, and those hangers-on who aspire to such dizzy heights and those even fewer who make it - by fair means or in this case by foul. Writer and Director Emerald Fennell has here delivered us a film of modern day British aristocracy that is conflicted by the out-of-touch staid and overly quirky mannerisms of the parents versus the next generation keen to mark its place in the world, and on that note Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike, Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan are all expertly cast in their roles of old school versus new school. The very black and often bleak humour is rendered with a deft touch that if you blink you'll surly miss some of the zingers that come hurtling by. Barry Keoghan gives a fearless performance in every respect from the mild mannered unassuming student we first meet at Oxford University to the cold calculating murderer we see at the end who relishes in his ill gotten gains - one for the ages for sure. 

'Saltburn' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 16th November 2023

The 68th Cork International Film Festival runs this year from Thursday 9th through until Sunday 26th November. Established in 1956, the festival presents Ireland’s most exciting, diverse, and ambitious annual film festival, connecting and stimulating audiences and artists through a carefully curated selection of the best films, to create a unique shared cultural experience, rooted in Cork, open to the world. It is Ireland’s first and largest film festival and one of Cork’s most significant and popular annual cultural events. Cork International Film Festival is a local, national and international celebration of cinema, running annually in venues and online in November. Award-winning films from the international film festival circuit, new discoveries and cinema classics are selected to be premiered in cinemas in Cork and screened online via the Festival Digital Platform, available to viewers nationwide. 

This years Opening Night Gala presentation is 'Poor Things' Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Jerrod Carmichael and Ramy Youssef and tells the incredible story about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. The Closing Night film is 'The Holdovers' Directed by Alexander Payne and starring Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa about a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school who remains on campus during the Christmas break in the 1970's to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go.

The Festival presents twelve awards, including the CIFF Best New Irish Feature Award, Spirit of the Festival Award, Award for Cinematic Documentary, and two Audience Awards (for features and shorts). Its awards for Grand Prix Irish Short, Grand Prix International Short and Grand Prix Documentary Short Award are Academy Award qualifying, ensuring that the winners in Cork automatically join the Oscars long-list.

Those films competing for the Best New Irish Feature Award are :-

* 'So This Is Christmas' - Directed by Ken Wardrop this film illuminates the challenges often unseen beyond the toys, trees and tinsel, where characters in a small Irish village reflect on their difficult relationships with Christmas.

* 'One Night in Millstreet' - Directed by Andrew Gallimore. The St. Patrick’s weekend of 1995 witnessed an extraordinary thing, a world championship boxing match deep in the countryside of County Cork, between Super Middleweight Champion, Chris Eubank, and the hungry challenger from Cabra, Steve Collins. World Premiere.

* 'All You Need Is Death' - Directed by Paul Duane. Young couple Anna and Aleks collect folk ballads, the rarer the better, and the more money they can sell them for. Following a tip from a fellow collector, they secretly record a song so ancient that it is in a forgotten dialect. But once they begin to translate the song, they discover the terrifying reason why it was never meant to be passed on.

* 'Prospect House' - Directed by Paul Mercier. A group of protesters film a period re-enactment in a dilapidated 18th century house in a last ditch effort to save it from demolition.

* 'The Days of Trees' - Directed by Alan Gilsenan. An intimate beautifully wrought and deftly handled meditation on trauma, offering hope and insight.

The Spirit of the Festival Award comprises the following films :-

* 'The Girls Are Alright' - from Spain and Directed, Written, Co-Produced and starring Itsaso Arana. Four actresses and a writer spending a week in a secluded country house rehearsing a period play, chatting, and getting artistic inspiration from their own lives.

* 'Embryo Larva Butterfly - from Greece and Directed and Written by Kyros Papavassiliou. Penelope and Isidoro navigate their relationship in a world where time is non-linear, and past, present and future skip back and forth arbitrarily every time they wake.

* 'Animal' - from Greece, France and Poland and Directed by Sofia Exarchou. The team of dancers, singers and entertainers in an all inclusive tourist resort prepare for the upcoming season and we slowly get to know all the characters, including Kaila, natural leader of the group. As the summer heats up the make-up and facades begin to melt.

* 'Excursion' - from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, France, Norway and Directed by Una Gunjak. Iman is an ordinary teenage girl from Sarajevo that falls for an older boy and, in order to protect their half-imaginary relationship, comes up with a little white lie that spirals out of control.

* 'Negu Hurbilak' - from Spain and Directed by Colectivo Negu. At the end of the Basque conflict in 2011, when the ETA announces their ceasefire, a young woman goes on the run to escape political persecution, hoping to cross the border. She arrives at a quiet border village, Zubieta - a place where time appears to stand still, and she waits, as all the while the weight of her situation hangs around her.

* 'Camping du Lac' - from Belgium and France and Directed and starring Eleonore Saintagnan. Following her car breakdown in the middle of France, Eleonore has to make a stop at the mostly abandoned campsite with mobile homes and a view of a lovely lake. During her stay encounters interesting characters and searches for the mysterious lake monster.

For the full details of the other awards being presented; the remaining documentary, feature and short film strands being showcased; and a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go the official website at : https://corkfilmfest.org/

So turning the attention then back to this weeks six new movies gracing a big screen Odeon close to home, we kick off with an offering from a second time Director about a young Oxford University student who becomes infatuated with his aristocratic schoolmate and his wealthy but eccentric family. This is followed by a prelude to a hugely popular and successful film franchise that sees a young Coriolanus Snow mentoring and developing feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th fight to the death for the teenage tributes from each of the twelve Districts. Next up we have slasher horror film that following a Black Friday riot which ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer goes on a murderous rampage in Plymouth, Massachusetts - the birthplace of the infamous holiday. Then we turn to a French full-bodied RomCom that tells the story of a fifty year old divorced bear-with-a-sorehead who runs a small rural wine shop, and despite numerous obstacles, finds true love in unexpected quarters thanks to a woman with her own set of issues. Moving on we have a Danish/Swedish documentary in which the filmmakers examine both humanity's obsession with the camera's image and its social consequences, from the first camera to the 45 billion existing worldwide today; before closing out the week with an Aussie doco that takes us into the world of this prominent Australian artist and peels back the layers of his intimate journey.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'SALTBURN' (Rated MA15+) - is a psychological thriller drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Emerald Fennel in her second feature film outing following the highly acclaimed 'Promising Young Woman' in 2020 which reaped 116 award wins and another 193 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival in late August and is set for release in the US, the UK and here in Australia from this week having so far generated mostly favourable reviews. 

Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a Summer never to be forgotten. Also starring Rosamund Pike as Elsbeth Catton and Richard E. Grant as Sir James Catton - Felix's mother and father respectively, and Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan and Paul Thys. 

'THE HUNGER GAMES : THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES' (Rated M) - this American dystopian science fiction action film Directed by Francis Lawrence, is based on the 2020 novel 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' by Suzanne Collins, serves as a prequel to 2012 film 'The Hunger Games' and is the fifth instalment in 'The Hunger Games' film series. Francis Lawrence Directed the last three films in the franchise with 'Catching Fire' in 2013 and 'Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2' in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Those first four films in the series grossed close to US$3B at the global Box Office off the back of combined production budgets of US$493M making this eventual prequel a no brainer. Set 64 years before the events of the first film, we here follow the events that eventually lead a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blythe) on the path to becoming the tyrannical leader of Panem (played by Donald Sutherland in the original films), including his relationship with the Hunger Games tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from the impoverished District 12 during the year of the 10th Hunger Games. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who's a songbird and who's a snake. Also starring Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis, the film is released in the US this week also, having cost US$100M to produce.

'THANKSGIVING' (Rated R18+) - is an American slasher horror film Directed by Eli Roth, and based on a story and the mock trailer that Roth created for the 'Grindhouse' film Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino in 2007. Roth who is no stranger to the genre also Directed such other features including his debut with 'Cabin Fever' in 2002 then 'Hostel' and 'Hostel : Part II' in 2005 and 2007 respectively, 'Knock Knock' in 2015, 'Death Wish' in 2018, and the documentary 'Fin' in 2021. Here then, after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious serial killer, known only as 'John Carver', comes to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the intention of creating a Thanksgiving carving board out of the town's inhabitants. The films stars Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Milo Manheim and Gina Gershon and is released in the US this week too.

'LA DEGUSTATION' (Rated M) - aka 'The Tasting' is a French comedy romantic drama film Written and Directed by Ivan Calberac whose previous feature film making credits take in his debut in 2002 with 'Irene', then 'Cheating Love' in 2006, 'Alternate Weeks (and Half the Vacation)' in 2009, 'The Student and Mr. Henri' in 2015 and 'Venice is not in Italy' in 2019. Jacques Dennemont (Bernard Campen) is divorced and runs a small wine shop, on the verge of bankruptcy. Hortense Le Bris (Isabelle Carre), determined not to end up single and an old maid walks into his store one day and decides to sign up for a tastings workshop. This film was released in its native France at the end of August 2022, and only now does it get a release in Australia having so far grossed US$2.2M at the Box Office. 

'FANTASTIC MACHINE' (Rated M) - is a Danish and Swedish documentary film Written, Produced and Directed by Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck that charts the history of the first camera to forty-five billion (and counting) cameras worldwide today. Here the film makers explore, explain and expose how our unchecked obsession with image has grown to change our human behaviour. From Camera Obscura and the Lumieres Brothers all the way to Youtube and the world of social media, the film chronicles how we went from capturing the image of a backyard to a multi-billion- euro content industry in just 200 years. After doing the rounds across the worldwide festivals circuit and collecting three award wins (including Berlin and Sundance) plus another eight nominations, the films goes on limited release here in Australia this week. 

'BROMLEY : LIGHT AFTER DARK' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary film is Directed by Sean McDonald in his Directorial debut. David Bromley found that art appeased the voices in his head and helped him find beauty in the world. So he made the life-changing decision to commit his whole being to something meaningful. This feature doco takes us into the world of this prominent Australian artist. With intimate access, we peel away the layers of anxiety, phobias and suicide survival, whilst embracing the humour, energy, and love that is ever-present in the Bromley world. The Director has here documented David and his wife Yuge for over five years, leading to this incredibly intimate and unique documentary on one of Australia’s most prolific and iconic artists.

With six new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-