Saltburn (2023)
Saltburn is a 2023 psychological thriller drama film written, directed, and produced by Emerald Fennell. The film stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, and Archie Madekwe. Set in the mid-2000s, it follows a young university student (Keoghan) who becomes infatuated with his aristocratic schoolmate (Elordi) and his wealthy but eccentric family.
Saltburn had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2023, and in the United States via a limited theatrical release the same day, before expanding wide on November 22, 2023. The film was also part of the 2023 Austin Film Festival.
Premise
Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
Cast
Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick
Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton
Rosamund Pike as Elsbeth, Lady Catton, Felix's mother
Richard E. Grant as Sir James Catton, Felix's father
Alison Oliver as Venetia Catton, Felix's sister
Archie Madekwe as Farleigh Start, Felix's cousin
Carey Mulligan as "Poor Dear" Pamela, Elsbeth's friend
Paul Rhys as Duncan, the butler
Lolly Adefope as Lady Daphne
Ewan Mitchell as Michael Gavey
Sadie Soverall as Annabel
Millie Kent as India
Reece Shearsmith as Professor Ware
Production
Saltburn is the second film directed by Emerald Fennell after Promising Young Woman (2020). By January 2022, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment was in talks to produce, after previously collaborating with Fennell on her previous film. In May 2022, Ackerley, Robbie, and Josey McNamara were confirmed as producers, while Rosamund Pike, Jacob Elordi, and Barry Keoghan joined the cast. Carey Mulligan, star of Promising Young Woman, was revealed to be part of the cast in December.
In writing the film, Fennell wanted to sympathize with unlikeable people, saying "the sorts of people that we can’t stand, the sorts of people who are abhorrent—if we can love them, if we can fall in love with these people, if we can understand why this is so alluring, in spite of its palpable cruelty and unfairness and sort of strangeness, if we all want to be there too, I think that’s just such an interesting dynamic." She had long wanted to make her own version of films and books set in a country house, and set the film in 2006 to "really [knock] the fucking glamour off things" by setting it in the recent past.
Filming began on July 16, 2022, with Linus Sandgren serving as cinematographer. The film is shown in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with Fennell saying it gives the impression of "peeping in."
Fennell was determined not to film in an estate familiar to viewers and wanted to set the movie in one location, so aligning the filming with the film's plot, saying, "It was important to me that we were all in there together, that the making of the film in some way had that feeling of a summer where everyone loses their mind together... I didn’t want to be constantly picking up and moving.” and avoiding the need for post-production adjustments due to multiple locations.
Fennell was successful, with filming occurring at and in Drayton House, Northamptonshire, which had never been used for filming before and may never be used again, with a part of the contract being that no one was allowed to reveal the location of the house or the identity of its owners. Despite the house's opulence, the actors ultimately became familiar with the house's interiors over the course of filming.
Release
Saltburn had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023. It also premiered as the opening film of the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 4, 2023. It is scheduled for a limited release in the United States on November 17, 2023, followed by a wide expansion on November 22, 2023, by Amazon MGM Studios Distribution.
It was originally scheduled to be released on November 24, 2023, but was moved up a week to take advantage of the critical acclaim it received at its Telluride premiere and boost its chances at awards season. Warner Bros. Pictures will handle the release of the film internationally, with a November 17 release in the United Kingdom.
Credits
Directed by: Emerald Fennell
Written by: Emerald Fennell
Produced by:
Emerald Fennell
Josey McNamara
Tom Ackerley
Margot Robbie
Starring:
Barry Keoghan
Jacob Elordi
Rosamund Pike
Richard E. Grant
Alison Oliver
Archie Madekwe
Carey Mulligan
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren
Edited by: Victoria Boydell
Music by: Anthony Willis
Production Companies:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
MRC
LuckyChap Entertainment
Lie Still
Distributed by:
Amazon MGM Studios Distribution (United States
Warner Bros. Pictures(International)
Release dates:
August 31, 2023 (Telluride)
November 17, 2023 (United Kingdom/United States)
Running time: 131 minutes
Countries
United Kingdom
United States
Language: English
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