A ‘debaucherous’ British drama focusing on the private lives of the aristocracy is finally streaming in the UK for free.
When it hit screens at the end of 2023, Saltburn caused a stir over its string of shocking storylines and explicit scenes.
Written, directed and produced by Emerald Fennell – who at that point had risen to fame for her film Promising Young Woman and has since helmed the upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation – the comedy thriller starred Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe and Carey Mulligan.
For those who missed tuning in, the synopsis teases: ‘A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming, aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.’
Keoghan played Oliver Quick, a poor Oxford student who becomes obsessed with the wealthy Felix Catton (Elordi) who invites him to his family home – where the social climber meets his parents and sister, played by Grant, Pike and Oliver.
Saltburn was released on Amazon Prime Video on December 22, 2023, and quickly became one of the platform’s most-streamed films of that period.
However, many were left taken aback when settling in to watch with their family and declaring doing so ‘almost ruined Christmas’.
Some of the film’s more shocking scenes included Oliver drinking Felix’s bathwater, licking period blood off his fingers and even going at it with a grave…yes, really.
Sharing how they were very nearly emotionally scarred by the experience, many people shared just how awkward things became watching this all unfold with their parents.
‘Just watched Saltburn with my parents. Merry Christmas everyone,’ Melanie posted on X.
‘Please learn from my mistakes and listen to my warning to NOT watch Saltburn with your parents or anyone tbh,’ Betsy warned.
‘Watched Saltburn with my parents last night and gotta say, not necessarily a family-friendly film!’ Kirsten declared.
‘Genuinely can’t comprehend how people are watching Saltburn with their parents…like I could never do that,’ Jack wrote.
‘I hope that all you freaks who showed your poor parents Saltburn for Christmas get cut out of the will,’ Kirsty added.
Despite many people instantly regretting watching the film with family, others who avoided doing so (or managed to get over the awkwardness) had rave reviews.
‘From start to finish, Saltburn is a wild and savage spellbinder. Transfixing and hypnotic, Emerald Fennell has crafted a provocative and diabolical masterpiece steeped in lies, deception, and a multitude of twists and turns,’ Awards Daily wrote in its review.
‘A dark and twisted thriller that isn’t afraid to push boundaries. It gets weird, sexy, and unsettling, which all works for the story being told. Barry Keoghan delivers a career best performance,’ Mama’s Geeky shared.
‘It’s in service of the dizzying adventure of a story, undoubtedly wrestling with class and deception as much as desire and the plain silliness of youth. It’s all there, but one of the greatest pleasures of Saltburn is just being invited to the party,’ The Evening Standard added.
Metro’s review of the film teased that it had: ‘Sex scenes dripping with bodily fluids, [and] a highly sexualised sequence in a cemetery that no film fan is likely to have anticipated – until it’s already unfolding in front of their eyes.’
Many viewers also said it was ‘full of plot twists’, adding the ending ‘blew their minds’
Meanwhile Fennell told Metro: ‘If anyone should be asking any sort of questions about [my] sanity, for example, they should leave them maybe at my door.
‘Everyone who worked on [Saltburn] was completely dedicated and completely understood the sort of film we were trying to make.’
‘I wouldn’t ever want to have an awkward conversation [with an actor]. I’d never ask anyone, actor or anything, to do something they weren’t comfortable with.’
‘But when you’re talking about desire, when you’re talking about obsession, when you’re talking about power and love, then you do have to go to places that are quite extreme,’ she added.
Saltburn was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and five Baftas. It was also credited with a resurgence of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit Murder on the Dancefloor, which was featured in the last scene of the film.
As a result, the song amassed 1.5 million streams on New Year’s Eve on Spotify and subsequently re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number eight.
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