Scouser student Oliver (Barry Keoghan, who is not English but Irish) arrives at Oxford University where he sticks out like a sore thumb ("he's a scholarship boy and buys his clothes from Oxfam" sniffs one plummy-voiced deb). Despite this he attracts the attention of Home Counties aristocrat Felix (Jacob Elordi, who is not English but Australian/Spanish) who takes him to his family's country pile - the titular stately home - where Oliver meets Felix's family of stereotypical English aristos: vague mother, mad father, nymphomanic sister, American cousin (Archie Madekwe, who is not American but English/Nigerian/Swiss). At first even more out-of-place than he was at Oxford, Oliver quickly becomes used to life at Saltburn. But for how long will he be welcome there?

Watching this at the 2023 London Film Festival, I found it reminded me of various other films: the obvious one is 'The Talented Mr Ripley' (1999), but there are also aspects of 'Wild Things' (1998) and 'The Riot Club' (2014). Despite this, 'Saltburn' does stand on its own two feet, principally because Oliver's motives are ambiguous and, unlike 'Ripley', there is a vein of comedy throughout (sometimes unintentionally: a scene of Oliver drinking bathwater into which Felix has just ejaculated had the audience falling about, but I am not sure that was the intention of writer/director/producer Emerald Fennell!) I also appreciated that Fennell avoids the reverse-discrimination trap of making rich folk exclusively nasty but instead shows that - hey! - aristocrats have feelings too! Felix, especially, is sympathetically-drawn. If I have any criticism it is that at over two hours the film is over-long - after the birthday party sequence it seems the film has reached a natural conclusion, although there is, it turns out, good reason for it to carry on... perhaps a few of the mid-way scenes could have been cut.

The supporting players are gifted with enjoyable parts - standouts are Carey Mulligan as a drug-addled socialite and Paul Rhys (who, thirty years ago, would have been a natural to play Oliver) as a straight-laced butler. Those actors essaying accents not their own do a good job - Elordi's rich-boy drawl, in particular, is convincing. And as for leading man Keoghan - the lengthy sequence during which he dances nude to 'Murder on the Dance Floor' is likely to be one of the most-discussed scenes of the film.

Oliver Quick becomes captivated by fellow student at Oxford, Felix. When Felix tells Oliver that his father has died, Felix invites Oliver back to his family home, the grand mansion estate of Saltburn.

Imagine coming from a humble background, and being dropped into a world of luxury and abundance, where aristocrats live their lives detached from reality.

This had me captivated from start to finish, truly one of the most unique and original films that I've seen for some time.

The trailer captivated me, I had high expectations, if I'm honest, it exceeded my expectations. The writing oozed quality, great story, with some magnificent characters.

At times it's bizarre, amusing, sexy and intriguing, and at times it's just plain weird. It simmers away for the most part, until the last fifteen minutes or so, when it transformation with a jaw dropping twist.

Beautifully filmed, it looks amazing, some of the camera work is exquisite, and that building is simply glorious.

The acting is first rate, Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant and Carey Mulligan are all spot on, Barry Keoghan however, his performance deserves awards, that dance!! Won't forget that in a hurry.

Loved it, and didn't want it to end.

9/10.

Emerald Fennell leaps over any potential sophomore slumps with Saltburn, an immensely twisted tale of obsession and excess that's black comedy eventually goes into much darker territory. It's bold, provocative and just so funny, buoyed by a cast who completely understand the assignment and deliver glorious results.

Barry Keoghan gives a fearless performance, bearing all in more ways than one. His character is so fascinating, initially an audience surrogate that could've felt overly safe but his constant weaving in and out of control is a real highlight, making him so much more interesting and flawed.

Jacob Elordi is enchanting, he's so kind without a single care in the world and one of the few seemingly nice people in Saltburn though not without his own self obsessed flaws. Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant dial it up to eleven and get some of the best laughs.

Emerald Fennell and cinematographer Linus Sandgren craft a gorgeous film of vivid saturation and striking imagery (some of which cannot be unseen). Equally strong is Fennell's screenplay which is hilarious, almost every scene has at least one memorable joke or biting line of dialogue.