It’s incredibly frustrating to watch a movie that looks so well directed and shot just to realise by the end of it that you’ve been given a TikTok bait

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who after the movie ended went “this movie makes absolutely no sense.” Especially how easy it was for him to kill the entire family and no one questioned why this random guy inherited the house.

Thank you! “He’s crazy so he does whatever” ugh I’m amazed some people make excuses for blatantly weak writing

Skip Saltburn and watch The Talented Mr. Ripley instead.

I assumed it was bc he was obsessed with felix (him saying he didnt love him I took as an unreliable narrator type thing). And when felix turned him down he decided if he couldnt have him, no one else could. Then he decided to become felix. I never thought the house was his day 1 campaign

You've hit the nail on the head with how Oliver has two conflicting motivations. When I was watching the film, I thought that his motivation is about power and manipulation - he gets off on controlling and manipulating those around him, and when the people he's manipulating have power (ie in the form of money) he gets more of a thrill out of it. But this falls apart in the last quarter of the film where he goes on a murder spree and it's revealed that it was about the house all along. I really like the solution that you suggested of Farley discovering Oliver's lies and being killed for it works really well, and having Oliver struggle to kill off the rest of the family members would make the audience root for him more.

I think it's a limerence thing - if you really envy what someone has you can simultaneously love/admire them (for having it) and also hate them (because you envy them) and the experience masquerades as that weird possessive kind of love where you can't tell if you want to date them or be them. That's what I got from it at least.

This is the BEST analysis ive seen! It's so frustrating that Emerald didn't pick one lane and stick in it.

It's so easy to be distracted by the film because it's got a lot going for it and it's very entertaining. However, I remember watching it for the first time and being like, "That made no sense." I loved your takes sm 🙏🏾

Spot on. I couldn't figure out exactly why I didn't like the movie. This articulates the issues very well. And I liked the creative plot alternatives.

It's all style, no substance, no original ideas and it tried to use shock value to move the story forward, except it wasn't shocking cause there was no build-up and everything just felt random. I fully agree with your "Kill your Darlings" ! I found the lack of motivation and logic to the story a big bore. There's plenty of analysis on how it's a rip off but even the grave scene was done much better in Shameless (at least it made more sense and it was funny in that context). I agree with your analysis, but I don't think it could be easily fixed, it was a bunch of unoriginality packaged to appeal visually to audiences. I did like Rosamund Pike, she was so good in her role and the only funny character.

Damn, that typo example was killer. Keep up the great analysis and the creative bits!

A fellow Irishman who understands me ! Film is still excellently produced, shot, acted, edited, scored etc.

I feel like as soon as they didnt show us the "phone call" where his mom tells him his "dad is dead" i knew it wasnt true

As with your Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, and "Past Lives" deep-dives, this is an exceptionally insightful analysis. Thank you.

Being a therapist working with people with personality disorders (including ASPD), I think made it easier for me to accept Olly's inconsistent motivations. While "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a better movie with better characters, I think Fenel did such a good job crafting a character with a real-enough personality disorder (probably some kind of ASPD with psychopathoc features comorbid with BPD features) that the inconsistencies didnt bothered me. From a personality disorder perspective, Olly makes perfect sense, while still being fictional

i usually am sort of “eh” about rewrites but im in LOVE with your alternate story and SO MAD i cant watch it

The bones are missing in this movie. It’s an empty hole filled with pretty skin and some period blood.

5:39 so far i think you are missing what i understood, which was, he loves him in a way that he wants to be him. but i am interested to see where your analyses goes as always!

This is the one I've been waiting for, I need your perspective on this.

The Talented Mr Ripley is a better version of the same movie

You're right! This would really have made the film make more sense

I feel like there was something that I just didn't connect with on this film and this video really clarified it for me. Oliver just doesn't make much sense as a character. It feels like it's trying to do this big Kaiser Soze reveal at the end but what it's revealing is behind some dirty frosted glass that still makes you wonder what you're looking at. His character is just muddled and it's not really clear what he ever wanted or what drove his actions.

There’s a lot that this video points out that I agree with (the mother relationship being weak, the ending being rushed and unbelievable, and that Felix not telling the family about the backstory). But I disagree with the idea that this is an “eat the rich” story. There are elements of “rich people bad”, yes, but Oliver wants to be a part of this world. I believe that this is a movie about obsession. This is about a lonely, average person thinking he deserves more than his average life. I didn’t need a deep backstory beyond the visit home to click that into place. I got the impression that Oliver was severely unbalanced and his rage comes from his normal life, and instead wanting to be special. Being in the light that Felix naturally exudes. To me, Oliver is more like Jeffery Dahmer killing and eating his victims because he was lonely and thought that eating them would bring them closer.

I haven't seen the movie but from just watching this I am thinking what if the writer(s) or director were trying to show how psychopaths don't always make sense, since in a lot of media the psycopaths are always geniuses? The point could be that there was no logic behind the killings and that these types of killers don't even know the real reason themselves.

I agree, the writing & plotting is weak. However, the relationship between Oliver & the mother was ‘developed’ more than you indicate here. There were a few scenes indicating that she has become fond of Oliver & is growing to rely on his presence, but again, it’s done in a ‘tell not show’ way that is unconvincing.

Excellent. Its so disappointing when you see a movie with such potential slip down the drain. Your fixes, particularly going with his love for Felix, would have worked.

Didn’t know you started posting again. This is amazing thought you had permanently stopped. Just want to let you know as a fellow cinephile, I really appreciate your videos.

I totally agree and it would have been so much better with the changes you suggested.

Fully agree with this analysis. I wish we could send this to the Director and writer of the movie… would be curious to know how they react

Thanks for the recap. I fell asleep during most of the movie, but I caught the end. Sit through that entire movie to see the lead actors junk bouncing around.

THANK YOU for this video. Not because I hated the movie, I’m ambivalent towards it, but because these are some really useful writing tips for aspects of plot design I’ve struggled with.

I really genuinely love your observation,i really. I wish you made an observation on the series you or the movie scenes of a marriage. Please post more

Great insights, JAO!

I really love this movie but I also agree with everything you say here. What it lacked in writing, it made up for in artistic boldness. It could have been an Oscar winner with your recommended updates.

I actually liked the movie and didn't have problems watching it but i do agree there were just some missed opportunities that could've made the movie even better

the funniest thing about the saltburn script is that everyone has better ideas than what fennell ended up writing.

I personally loved this movie and such a good time, I even rated in 5/5 on Letterboxd but I obviously can see its many flaws in the screenplay. It doesn't make me love the movie and the experience I had watching it any less, but like yes this supposed movie would be a better film. And either way how you feel about this is fine but it's always a childish thing I feel when people either judge people for liking a movie even when they have the self awareness to know it isn't great and the people that God defend movies like this acting like it's flawless.

Great to see a video from you again. Hope all is well. I liked Saltburn but not all the hype. I thought some of the ways the family were portrayed was too cliché and I also couldn't work out the game plan Oliver was following. It feels vague as a result . I really struggled that the family would put on such an expensive party for Oliver - it just all seemed so unlikely and if the family were really that wealthy, they wouldn't be living in Britain in the summer anyway.

I don't get why people were so crazy about this movie. It's well shot and looks very nice, but plot is all over the place. I had it explained to me that Oliver, who comes from a humble home, desperately wants to be part of the aristocracy and sees getting in with an elite family as a way of doing it. He was envious of Felix and want to essentially be him, but when Felix finds out his true past he becomes a threat so Oliver kills him, and then kills the sister so she can't turn the mother against him, and then after the dad dies convinces the mom to leave Saltburn to him and then kills her. The movie kind of conflates Oliver's apparent desire for Felix with his desire to be an elite. I don't think the movie successfully does this but it's the best interpretation of the movie I've heard that makes some sense.

I enjoyed the movie but couldn't quite put my finger on what was off about it - you've articulated it perfectly! Thank you. I have closure lol

Stop being afraid to talk about class, people. Lean into that discomfort; this film should have.

Oliver is a vain psychopath. He cannot accept the fact that those "inferior" rich people are loved and idolized more than what he thinks he deserves. He sees himself as king and wants it all for himself. He wants to play and likes the game. He is vain, psychopathic and narcissistic. Those are the motivations of his shallow intentions. It's not needed that he comes from a poor family, was bullied or anything. He's evil and likes it.

Why couldn’t his motivation have changed overtime? Like in 2002 his motivation is just to ingratiate himself in the socialites, but later he just wants the house.

you deserve an oscar

saltburn feels like a more depraved and less emotionaly mature version of the talented Mr.Ripley

Agh I see what you mean but I disagree. I think that the movie is about obsession. It can be a mix of both hate AND love. I think that Ollie is just grasping at straws at first, to get into Felix’s life and to be more like him. Once he has blown it, and Felix under covers that Ollie is a liar, I think he just panicked. If Ollie can’t have Felix, no one can. Then he gets the opportunity to live out his dream and BE Felix, except it doesn’t quite work. His family is under Ed by him, and the sister sees through him now. Ollie can’t control the other family members to live out his fantasy- to be Felix and have the world obey him because of his charm and charisma. This lack of control builds a hatred. To truly control the family is to control the memory of them. When they are better off dead. Idk whether or not the sister did kill herself or it was Ollie. But I believe she may have. I do think the dad died of natural causes. The mother was really his only actual thought out target. She was the weakest link, especially after the passing of her family. It established that Ollie is a psychopath with anti personally disorder qualities, much like a serial killer. And like a serial killer- when give. The chance they elaborate. They may want you to think it was a big grand plan, that they are a genius apart from us as to justify their crimes and otherness…. But it’s all just rubbish. They, like Ollie, are unreliable narrators. I don’t think that Ollie’s o section does with Felix, nor getting asked to leave Saltburn. He always craved to go and take it back, to inherit it just like how Felix would. At the end shot you see Ollie standing there with the puppets and four stones. Finally Ollie has control over all of them, all of it. Just like how he envisioned Felix did. He is what it looks like when you run away with obsession but never get caught. No grand plan, at least not till the end. Just letting passion run the train.

I’d dispute that ”never boring”; to me, one of the biggest issue was it doesn’t hold my interest precisely because he protagonist doesn’t make sense

holy shit man hahaa your proposal is legit so much better than the actual film

See, I figured the movie was supposed to run on weird fairytale logic anyway. I like this version better though!

Good analysis of what is wrong but could be right about this movie. I have an alternate ending for the movie 'as it is.' What happened to the butler? He at least should have shown up at the end, during the dance, showed all of the receipts he had gathered on all that occurred and showed our little boy who would really in charge for the rest of his life.

The ending annoyed me so much as they build up an entire film of obsession with Felix then flip it at the end without any step to all of it being about trying to take the house/land. If they stuck with Felix and exploring the relationship until the end where Oliver kills him because he was never going to feel the same way it would've felt like a complete story.

Yeaaaah Let's get this video to a lot of views in the first hour so that it gets love from youtube Algorithm bless this video which i liked even before watching it because it's that good Seriously, sometimes i end up pissed off because i can't like it again after watching it, fix that youtube Lots of words lots of engagement, yadda yadda

I so so SOO wanted saltburn to be good. I've been following it since before it popped off on tiktok, during those first teasers and trailer. It looked ao intriguing and when i finally watched it. I wss so disappointed, the reasons why i was so disappointed with are exactly what you said in this video. I try explaining why i dislike the movie to my friends and am just unable to properly convey my thoughts so seriouslt rhank you for this😭 i thought i was going insane for being the few to dislike it amongst my friends😭 now i can just show them this video

I think the disconnect was partly on purpose and partly accidental because Emerald wanted to tell a story of class struggles. I.e. “The middle classes wanting to devour the upper classes.” It has plot holes because her point of view is flawed.

From the start, I thought they were setting the movie up like Midsommar or Get Out, where the protagonist is invited to this enchanting, exotic environment and gets taken advantage of, so when I saw Oliver doing these abrasively shocking things right away, it just sowed in me confusion and annoyance. It would've been smarter if they deceptively baited the idea of them possibly taking advantage of Oliver (like at the beginning of Barbarian) and slowly eased into revealing Oliver's dark side. Then, I would've been far less annoyed and more intriguing.

I feel the same way with both of the films, Saltburn and Promising YW.

I agree. At the end of The Talented Mr. Ripley, I was rooting for Tom. At the end of Saltburn, I wasn’t rooting for Ollie. If this had been on purpose, where the true villain wins in the end, then I could appreciate that. But since it’s clear it’s not on purpose then I don’t care for it. I also get irritated at plot points where the villain leaves too much up to chance.

It was a very confusing and difficult movie 🎥. Promising Young Woman 👩 was a perfect movie from Emerald. I went to see this movie thinking 💭 it was a love ❤️ story because that’s how they promoted it only to be disturbed by what it is. It seemed like it was meant to be satire but there are so many things missing that should be in the story.

I think he loved the idea of Felix. Like how he was loved and surrounded by everyone. Which made him love and hate felix as a person. 'Love' as an envy(which somehow lead to 🛁⚰️ 🤮)and 'hate' because he was admired by people unlike Oliver .i think at first he just wanted to be friends with felix because he might have thought that would make him 'higher' somehow. Then he saw the mansion and realised he wanted it. Venetia is the easiest way in, which explains the vampire🤢scene.Maybe not actually marrying her,but asserting dominance over her (mentally disturbed brain).But later realised Felix doesn't like it and that its most likely he get kicked out like 'felix's old toys'. Maybe he didn't actually plan to kill anyone at first. He killed Felix so that nobody else will know his lies. Killed venetia for the same reason. Still got kicked out. Which made him think he should have killed everyone. And later when he had a chance he used it. Even if he was not kicked out he would still have killed them.

I can’t believe no one has called it a “period drama.”

I sow Oliver planning everything from the beginning, but watching it I thought that Felix had a plan as well (he bring a new guy every summer there). so I was shocked when he died and the film become a who done it

Emerald said the movie was based on tumblresque obsessions with celebrities, so going off of that, im thinking his initial plan wasnt the house, it was Felix, but since he messed it up with Felix, he killed him, since if he cant have him, no one can. Then he decided to BECOME him to the limits of his capabilities due to the family forcing him out. It's reflective of the theme of the movie, which is "obsession."

This couldn't be an 'eat the rich story', since Emerald comes from a wealthy family.

The Talented Mr. Ripley did all of this, without the problems and so much better, 25 years ago.

i like your story much more, my alternative take was that farleigh and oliver were in on it together, i was going with the logic of them having the same academic advisor, so they spent time together in oxford outside of felix, and i thought it would've been cool if they had formed a friendship or relationship, like maybe farleigh actually hates his family bc of how they treat him, and oliver saw an opportunity and was like what if we get rid of them, and the movie would've been them taking them out one by one together with no one knowing that they worked together. like the reveal that they knew each other would come at the very end for the audience

There was no reveal that he wanted the house all along. I don't know where this absolute misinterpretation comes from. The reveal was only that he was more manipulative than we thought, and capable from the start (not willing from the start) to do what he did, which is really only a soft reveal and not a full on plot twist since at that point there has already been at least a few revelations about him lying, manipulating and killing. His motivations change course after Felix disowns him as a friend. The Oliver we see at the end is an empty shell trying to get the most bitter and empty revenge from Farleigh in his mind. He wanted Felix to accept him, he didn't (as Farleigh said), so he became him, burning everything down in the process. The triumphant dance is in ironic contrast to what has happened. The framing narration is unreliable since he's repainting his past feelings to cope, but it's still revealing. His feelings were extreme on both ends, since he wanted Felix to love him and was murderously afraid of being cast out by him, which ironically led to exactly that. As for the implausibility of Oliver's schemes, it's consistent with not only the stylistically exaggerated black comedy world of the movie but also Oliver's already stylistically eccentric character within that world. This is a kid who spent his summer reading The Bible. Also this is not an "eat the rich" story and is attempting to say much less about an empty generality like class than people claim. It's not a completely original narrative (from Shakespeare to Mr. Ripley) but its infinitely more nuanced than these trite, clear-cut, babies first screenwriting fixes.

I still wonder what does Venicia mean by "you are better than the one last year". Is that an empty statement just trying to create a storyline of how Felix do have "pets" go with him in Saltburn?

I think Saltburn was just meant to be a fluffy piece of porn tbh and it worked well as that. It was hot and artful but lacked real depth

Not since “Passengers” in 2016 have I seen a movie that could have been great with just some minor reordering of events and cutting of some scenes.

Such a tempest of proposed rewrites for this film, and its protagonist...in the comments here as well as the featured video. Not since Victorian fiction has there been so universal an effort to "craft a perfect villain". But that should, perhaps, have been the job of the writer... the poor dear seems to have been focused on such indecisive thought and motivation for her characters, though, no wonder they move through the film like actors in a play by Beckett. Absurdly beautiful, but ultimately absurd.

All of Us Strangers next please

I had extremely low expectations of this movie, to the point that at the end I recognized how little sense it made but I didn’t care. I actually forgave the movie for surprising me and exceeding expectations. I had the complete opposite experience in every way when I watched True Detective Night Country.

Didn't like the movie. Because it felt like a Call Me By Your Name, quirky, 2000's nostalgia bait kind of film in the beginning. Then it shifted to a crazy thriller with actual murder somewhere along the way. Not only that, but Olliver as a character makes 0 sense for me. He was middle class. I don't get why he wanted Saltburn so much all along. It's a goal that doesn't seem fitting for me.

No but there’s murder on the dance floor, so you’re wrong

Could you please make a video on How Gojira perfected the role of Godzilla in Godzilla Minus One? I think that would be a hilarious April Fools episode! Thanks for what you do.

Did anyone else notice that at @6:37 he actually does have pounds in his wallet? He's just playing a game!

Well Olivers motives were clearly understood. Even tho I came from upper middle class family, i would still do all the things that oliver did😂

If I was charged the and the cast and also the performance in saltburn was amazing so here we go 1 Kodi Smit McPhee as Oliver Quick is this man who wants revenge from his brother death and also wants saltburn. He uses everyone to get what he wants and also dangerous 2 Nicholas Galitzine as Felix Catton he very rich and charming everyone love being but his a dark past to him that why he drink and Party lots to get rid of past he Blames his myself for the murder of Eddie Quick who can stop thinking about it 3 Anya Taylor-Joy as Venetia Catton she never when to Oxford she when something where else then come back one last time then she meet Oliver She take a like to and also really Depressed trying to hide it from her family even her brother Felix that she loves so much 4 Miles Gutierrez-Riley as Farlehigh Stars just spoiled rich kids who like to put people down because it makes him big he trying to figure out Oliver 5 Kate Winslet as Elsbeth Catton Just the mom who thinks everything is okay but not really then start have a affair with Oliver 6 Paddy Considine as Sir James thinks everything is also okay who loves Oliver like a son because he thinks of Felix as a failure 7 Margot Robbie as Poor Dear Pamela, she is just there 8 Aaron Taylor Johnson or Jonathan Bailey as Benedict Catton Who comes visit his brother Felix then he see Oliver and he feels like he Recognized him and he an lawyer he doesn't trust him and just made him up 9 Tom Blyth as Eddie Quick he died in a car Accident with Felix Catton they were coming back from party Felix was pretty drunk then a car come out of nowhere then hit a car that killed him in Immediately an also Felix junior years 10 Anson Boon as Michael Gavey became friends, he thought, but Oliver just used him to get close to Felix because Michael is tutoring Felix 11 Charlie Cox as Duncan who doesn't trust Oliver see a bad person who wants revenge

This movie drove me crazy for all the reasons stated. It seemed like it wanted to be a class war movie and it obviously fails in that regard for a muddy and confused protagonist… Unless this is a class movie from the other way around in which the subject is entirely misunderstood by the wealthy lens he’s seen thru where he is obsessed / hateful / and in love w a capacity for anything at any moment wanting ultimately for that which he lacks: God levels of money. This is of course the darkest reading, but given what I know of the director, not absurd on its face, justifying all the illogical darlings because she doesn’t understand her subject herself

“Don’t try to understand it, feel it.”

Oliver was in love (hasnt ever felt that, always been on his own), then his heart is broken, his whole mind is shifted and his motivations change. He continues to go back to where he had always been his whole life, alone. So he took advantage of all the opportunities he had available to him. Lol, now hes alone, and powerful + rich ;) Personally, the movie is a big question. A question about morality. Its also a love story too, and shines some spotlight on real human relationships and their ups and downs, the desperation involved, and the darkness it can create.

Just cuz you can’t understand the mind of a psychopath doesn’t mean there’s a problem with the film. Everything you ask are thing criminal investigators and psychologists ask when studying psychopathy. There’s a lot of contradictory when it comes to psychopaths and sociopaths. A lot of lying and in Salt Burn just because the we are inside his mind doesn’t mean he’s telling the truth. The confusion you feel in this film is the same confusion psychologist feel studying psychopathy and criminal behavior. People lie to themselves and believe it. It’s possible he loved both the money and the person while hating both.

My first time watching this film I was left feeling like it wouldve been a better payoff if Oliver wasnt such an unlikeable character. I shouldnt have been rooting for Elsbeth to not talk to him at the end, because once they reveal he did all of this to keep the mansion, youre just left feeling icky. And the rich werent even bad, they were just rich so Oliver manipulating them adds to the "ick". Its not like GoneGirl cause it is made clear the she is the villain, here they expect you to root for him...because... Eat the rich?

Had to take a break mid way through watching this. The protagonist was so, for lack of a better word, weird. Loved Jacob Elordi though.

This movie is listed as a dark comedy? But where was the comedy? And isn't that the excuse Tommy Wiseau gave after The Room got panned? Did Emerald just pull a Tommy Wiseau????

I don't understand why film KZfaq is unwilling to take a deeper dive into this movie. It's way more meticulously written and layered than it has been given credit for. Lower-viewer film KZfaq has done a lot of interesting analysis of Saltburn, while higher-viewer filmtube is weirdly proud doing the Buzz Lightyear shopping aisle meme.

An incredibly frustrating film.

the writing was bad but "making it make sense" would destroy this movie in another way imo...when I finished this movie all I was thinking about was what a waste of everybody's time this was, nowadays so many movies leave the audience evaluating whether they're worthwhile investments, its sad(like how much resource it used, how it would impact the director's career). Smaller scale production, make the main character "weirder"(Barry fits too well with the steal the house intention...because of the stereotypes..it ruined the ambiguity for me),make it a 1hr40min movie, it would be worth it for me. but it was trying so hard to be a statement real-debut for the director.

None of the characters are relatable.

I think the absurdism and symbolism are of great value in this movie, imo you're trying too hard to rationalize it, but still, as ever, great vid, great work!

i dont like the way you criticize it as i dont think there are certain ways she could have turned the story or editing better. her way of telling it is just poorly articulated. the previous film was directing wise is more fresh but a bit naive as well. this one is just a collage of tiktok videos

Well...humans are not perfect. Motivations change, sometimes we just make shit up as we go

Still offended by Oliver quicks accent

Truly evil people have no real “valid”reason for any of the evil things they do. I think initially Oliver may have wanted the popularity via Felix and just improvised as he learned there were more and better things to possess along the way. He was opportunistic. That being said this was totally a rip off of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”

These two desires don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Oliver wanted both the house and Felix. Once Felix found out about Oliver being a manipulating lair there was no chance he would have him around in his life. This ultimately lead Oliver to end Felix’s life. What else would he have after that? Nothing. If he didn’t murder him he would lose Felix and the house but with the decision he made in the movie he at least has a chance to get the mansion. The only downside is he would have to commit to the heinous acts that he did. This could be an explanation for the “darlings” and his love for Felix and his hate for him as well. Because everyone loves the irresistible Felix but he can also hate him for what he made him do.

Nah disagree with most of what you said. I found the motivation easy: he desired Felix. In the way where he wants to be him, become him through possession. He wants to possess not only saltburn, but also, figuratively or physically, he wants to possess the family. Which he does by having sex, swallowing bath water, and converting family to agree with him. I thought that was super well done. Desire and jealousy is truly well depicted throughout the whole movie.

Ollie was psychotic. Sometimes you can’t make sense of crazy.

first🤓

I don't want to undermine your work on this video, but I thought it was pretty clear that Oliver is a narcissistic sociopath. Oliver loves Felix, and wants to be Felix, but that can switch on a dime, if given the right circumstances. Olivers behaviour aligns with narcissistic sociopath throughout all scenes, even the grave scene, in my personal opinion.