After a theatrical release in many countries, Saltburn has landed in France on Amazon Prime Video. And he immediately unleashed his audience, between fascination and disgust for certain scenes in the film.
You may have heard of Emerald Fennell’s feature film without even having seen it. Because since its release in theaters or in streaming depending on the country, Saltburn has created debates and discussions… The reason: in addition to its convoluted but effective storyline, its well-executed acting and its unusual image, the film includes several sequences which will not have did not fail to shock his spectators.
Whether it is fascination, admiration or simply disgust, the film does not leave its audience indifferent. Even to the point that some sellers on Amazon and Etsy have seized the opportunity to sell merchandising, such as candles scented with “Jacob Elordi’s bathwater” .
The strange adventures of Oliver (Barry Keoghan), more obsessed than in love with his friend Felix (Jacob Elordi), will not have failed to stir up social networks. But why? Here is a list of disturbing or disturbing scenes from Saltburn.
Warning: this article completely spoils the film Saltburn.
1 – Oliver engages in voyeurism
From the start, the director seeks to create a sensual closeness between Oliver and Felix, almost suffocating at times. The very close-ups on the parts of the characters’ bodies, from the face to the neck, the play of gazes, everything tends to show Oliver’s attraction to his university friend.
But if this attraction seems innocent at first, the hero ends up taking the first step, when he decides to go spy on his friend, who has then invited one of his conquests into his room. If the scene is not among the most embarrassing, stopping before showing more, it mentally prepares for the rest: Oliver’s obsession already pushes him to interfere in Felix’s privacy, and once once the milestone is reached, she won’t stop anytime soon.
2 – Menstruation does not bother vampires
While Felix has invited Oliver to the family home for the holidays, the scholarship student becomes the target of the attention of his younger sister, Venetia. To the point that the latter will walk under her window in her nightgown to play with the newcomer’s nerves.
What the young girl doesn’t know is that Oliver is less shy than he wants to let on. He therefore joins her and begins a game of seduction with his friend’s sister, not stopping when she tells him that she is in her “bad period” . On the contrary: he says he is like a vampire, and the two lovers will find themselves smeared with blood. A blood that stained the white dressing gown and the naive (but not so much) image of the young girl.
3 – Felix is dead? “Let’s go to lunch.”
Felix eventually succumbs in Saltburn. He is found dead the day after Oliver’s birthday, and the two scenes that follow are enough to make your blood run cold. First, because each member of the family handles the shock in their own way: the two other children react simply by collapsing, the father tries to move the body to bring it “warm” back into the house, before realizing that he can’t transport it… and mother Elspeth decides to let the police take care of it, before coldly saying: “Let’s go eat” .
Lunch is no better. Despite the sudden loss, etiquette dictates that we ignore the death of a family member. But the butler’s intrusions into this bad play never cease to break the pretenses by reminding us of the situation. The sequence reaches its climax when poor Duncan draws the curtains, plunging the image into a particularly violent red hue.
4 – L’eau du bain by Jacob Elordi
The scene is probably the one that caused the most talk. In the family house, Oliver and Felix share the same bathroom. When he catches his friend masturbating, Oliver says nothing. But once the room is empty, he rushes onto the water flowing out of the bathtub, to suck out all the fluids still present.
In any case, it is the scene that has been the most popular on social networks, with the sale of scented candles, or the creation of a coconut water cocktail, reminiscent of the texture of the sperm that Oliver is trying to ingest..
5 – Oliver and Felix’s Grave
Another scene considered particularly scandalous takes place just after Felix’s funeral. As the family moves away, Oliver finds himself alone near the grave of his former friend. He then mourns his disappearance, lying on the disturbed earth… before undressing to “make love” at Felix’s grave.
During an interview for the Golden Globes, actor Barry Keoghan explained that the sequence was improvised from start to finish: “I wanted to see how far it went could go, what would be the next level of obsession. […] And what happened… well, it happened.”
6 – A victory dance to close the film
The film reveals to us – without much surprise – that Oliver did not have intentions as pure as he claimed. In reality, everything was orchestrated to get closer to the powerful Catton family, and dispossess them of their property. Having finally obtained what he really coveted, namely the family castle, Oliver celebrates his accession to the property with a dance in every room of the house… naked as a worm.
The scene had enough impact to become a trend on TikTok, with the most affluent Internet users seeking to reproduce the dance without necessarily understanding its meaning. For his part, actor Barry Keoghan explained that the sequence was filmed several times to achieve perfection. Better still, he really enjoyed playing it, according to the same interview for the Golden Globes: “The dance scene was cool, I think I would love to do a musical after that. […] On the other hand, I don’t know how to sing.”
The Saltburn film has been available on Amazon Prime Video since December 22, 2023.
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