History Film / Saltburn

* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: how much did Oliver genuinely care about the Cattons? A lot of his actions were definitely deceptive, but sometimes (such as with Felix's grave) he shows genuine emotion in ways that don't seem to benefit his plans. Did he ever consider Felix an actual friend [[AmbigiouslyGay or more]]? What about Venetia or Elspeth?]]

* ConsummateLiar: [[spoiler: Oliver. Not only did he make up his entire tragic backstory, he's also been lying to his parents about his time at Oxford, and manages to get Elspeth to accept him as a surrogate son despite hating her and her entire family]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: For murdering his best friend and entire family, Oliver ends up the sole heir to his fortune and owner of the Saltburn manor, last seen [[HappyDance triumphantly dancing]] through the empty halls.]]

* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Many, many people warn Oliver that Felix's affections are fleeting, and that eventually he will lose interest in Oliver as a novelty. The film seems to be building towards a confrontation between the two that will end with Felix impulsively rejecting Oliver for superficial reasons, but in fact, Felix is not only completely justified in his reasoning for rejecting Oliver's love confession but is pretty clearly the innocent one in the situation. Oliver has engineered the entire friendship the two of them share, and manipulated Felix and his family for months.]
** [[spoiler:This also applies to the framing device, of Oliver speaking to someone off-camera and waxing nostalgically about his relationship with Felix. This suggests some sort of tragic love story, perhaps beign related to an interviewer, but it eventually turns out he was telling all of this to a comatose Elspeth, whom he's about to murder.]]

* CreepySouvenir: [[spoiler: After killing the entire Catton family, Oliver takes their memorial stones from the river and puts them in the living room, seemingly purely to gloat]]

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Our first inclination that something is seriously wrong the morning after Oliver's birthday party is when the ultra stuff and cold Duncan is spotted with his hair disheveled. Oliver actually seems genuinely shocked to see him like this as he never has before. Duncan notices the look and immediately smoothes his hair down, becoming visible calmer and returning to his usual icy demeanor as he does. 14 years later, Elspeth has cut her hair into a more practical and suitable style than what she had before, signifying that she's actually become a better person in the interim.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: [[spoiler: When we see Oliver's childhood house, it's a well-maintained two story home in a nice-looking neighborhood rather then the run-down rattrap he implied to Felix. As soon as we knock on the door, we discover that he was lying about growing up in grinding poverty.]]

** When Shelly's doppleganger is being discussed over breakfast, a person with [[spoiler:Felix's]] clothes and build passes by the window. [[spoiler:We're then told that Shelly died shortly after his doppleganger was seen...]]
*** Additionally, [[spoiler:Felix]] is the person most uncomfortable with the subject.
** Oliver smears Venetia's period blood over her face and it ends up on his after he performs oral sex on her. [[spoiler: She's found dead in a bathtub of bloody water after slashing her wrists]]
** In scenes with both Farleigh and Venetia, Oliver takes on far assertive mien then normal, [[spoiler: which is his real personality]].

* Jerkass: Farleigh is the most openly dickish character to Oliver, and generally to other people.
* JustIgnoreIt: A particularly heartwrenching version near the end, where the Carltons try to have a normal dinner despite [[spoiler: Felix having literally just died hours ago]], with the parents making frantic banal small talk and the children try to hold in their tears.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: For murdering his best friend and entire family, Oliver ends up the sole heir to his fortune and owner of the Saltburn manor, last seen [[HappyDance triumphantly dancing]] through the empty halls]]

* OnceMoreWithClarity: After the Reveal [[spoiler: we see through flashbacks Oliver manipulating basically every event of the plot]]

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Happens to Elspeth and James, twice, and in quick succession. Despite their vapid ways, it's clear that they're genuinely devastated by this.]]

* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Many, many people warn Oliver that Felix's affections are fleeting, and that eventually he will lose interest in Oliver as a novelty. The film seems to be building towards a confrontation between the two that will end with Felix impulsively rejecting Oliver for superficial reasons, but in fact, Felix is not only completely justified in his reasoning for rejecting Oliver's love confession but is pretty entirely the innocent one in the situation. Oliver has engineered the entire friendship the two of them share, and manipulated Felix and his family for months, and the morally worst thing Felix has done to Oliver is answer a phone call intended for him.]]
** [[spoiler:Also applies to the framing device, of Oliver speaking to someone off-camera and waxing nostalgically about his relationship with Felix. This paints the film with the expectation of a tragic romance, being told to someone, but in reality Felix is recounting the tale of how he caused the death of the entire Catton family to a comatose Elspeth, who obviously cannot hear him and whom he is about to murder.]]
* ReplacementGoldfish: Elspeth insists that Oliver stay at Saltburn after [[spoiler: Felix's death]], with the implication that she wants it to be permanent, clearly wanting him to serve as a surrogate son.

* SignificantWardrobeShift: When we see Elspeth 14 years later, she's dressed practically and appropriately instead of the high-fashion outfits she was previously swanning around in and has [[ExpositoryHairstyleChange cut her hair]] into a more suitable style too. Both of which coincide with her being a better person than she was in the past.
* SpoiledSweet: Felix is a ''very'' RareMaleExample. He's LovedByAll at home and at Oxford, comes from extreme wealth and an aristocratic lineage, refers casually to the priceless art they have at Saltburn, and is genuinely always very kind to Oliver--additionally, his mother comments that he's kind to everyone. However, he also seems somewhat oblivious to his own wealth and privilege, and is a bit possessive over Oliver.

* WalkingSpoiler: As you can see from the number of spoilers here, it's very hard to say anything about [[spoiler: Oliver]] without spoiling the entire film.

** Near the end of Oliver's movielong explanation his relationship with Felix [[spoiler: to Elseph]]:

** We also never learn what happens to Micheal after Oliver ditches him to hang out with Felix.

* AnimalMotifs: Discussed. Venetia talks about her father sees Oliver as a spider, skulking and spinning plans in the shadows, while she sees him as a mouse -- small, harmless, trying to burrow into a world he doesn't belong in. [[spoiler: Her father is closer.]]

* AmbigiousSituation: [[spoiler: how much did Oliver genuinely care about the Cattons? A lot of his actions were definitely deceptive, but sometimes (such as with Felix's grave) he shows genuine emotion in ways that don't seem to benefit his plans. Did he ever consider Felix an actual friend [[AmbigiouslyGay or more]]? What about Venetia or Elspeth?]]

** In scenes with both Farleigh and Venetia, Oliver takes on far assertive mien then normal, [[spoiler: which is his real personality]]

* PleaseWakeUp: A variant -- [[spoiler: when he finds Felix's body, Sir James starts insisting that he's just cold, and tries to get him a jacket]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We have no idea what happened to Farleigh after he was banished from Saltburn [[spoiler: though he should consider himself lucky he didn't end up dead like everyone else]].

* WhamLine: Near the end of Oliver's movielong explanation his relationship with Felix [[spoiler: to Elseph]]:

* ConsumateLiar: [[spoiler: Oliver. Not only did he make up his entire tragic backstory, he's also been lying to his parents about his time at Oxford, and manages to get Elspeth to accept him as a surrogate son despite hating her and her entire family]]

* A naked Oliver cavorting through the now-deserted Saltburn. Creator/BarryKeoghan is in very good shape, but it's hard to be titillated after [[spoiler:knowing he killed the entire Catton family and got away with it.]]
* Before this, we get such lovely sexual scenes as Venetia being eaten out while covered in her own period blood and Oliver drinking Felix's semen-filled bath water.

* FanDisservice: A naked Oliver cavorting through the now-deserted Saltburn. Creator/BarryKeoghan is in very good shape, but it's hard to be titillated after [[spoiler:knowing he killed the entire Catton family and got away with it.]]

* Red Herring: [[Many, many people warn Oliver that Felix's affections are fleeting, and that eventually he will lose interest in Oliver as a novelty. The film seems to be building towards a confrontation between the two that will end with Felix impulsively rejecting Oliver for superficial reasons, but in fact, Felix is not only completely justified in his reasoning for rejecting Oliver's love confession but is pretty entirely the innocent one in the situation. Oliver has engineered the entire friendship the two of them share, and manipulated Felix and his family for months, and the morally worst thing Felix has done to Oliver is answer a phone call intended for him.]]
** [[Also applies to the framing device, of Oliver speaking to someone off-camera and waxing nostalgically about his relationship with Felix. This paints the film with the expectation of a tragic romance, being told to someone, but in reality Felix is recounting the tale of how he caused the death of the entire Catton family to a comatose Elspeth, who obviously cannot hear him and whom he is about to murder.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Oliver smears Venetia's period blood over her face and it ends up on his after he performs oral sex on her. [[spoiler: She's found dead in a bathtub of bloody water after slashing her wrists]]

-->-- '''Felix Catton'''

-->''"Lots of people get lost in Saltburn."''

* FrameUp: Oliver plants drugs in Farleigh's room in order to imply that [[spoiler: Felix's death is his fault] and result in him being banished from Saltburn]]]

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead:
** The young women that surround Felix. His sister Venetia (who Oliver hooks up with) is blonde, his ex-girlfriend Annabel (who Oliver also hooks up with) is a redhead, and his new girlfriend India is brunette.

* PopularityCycle: It's implied that Felix has this problem: Venetia dismissively tells Oliver that she likes him even more than "last year's one", the implication being that Felix picks up impoverished people (especially men) to befriend and then discards him when he's bored of them.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: OLIVER. He appears to be a shy, awkward boy longing to be part of the upper crust. It turns out that he's been lying through his teeth about his circumstances and spends the entire movie manipulating things in his favor until the entire Catton family is dead either at his hand or via his influence and he now owns their home.]]

* FanDisservice: A naked Oliver cavorting through the now-deserted Saltburn. Ironically, he's actually in very good shape, which SHOULD make this visually pleasing, except. . .[[spoiler: he's acquired this mansion via murdering the previous owners or manipulating them to kill themselves and it's just sickening watching his victory dance]].

* LifesavingMisfortune: Farleigh [[spoiler: gets kicked out of Saltburn after being framed for Felix's death. Once we learn what a murderous bastard Oliver and how he engineered Felix's and nearly everyone else's death, we realize that Farleigh was actually LUCKY that this happened, lest he become a victim too.]]

* WardrobeFlawOfCharacterization: Farleigh can immediately tell that [[PennyAmongDiamonds Oliver]]'s tux is a rental, and subtly mocks him about it.

* BigFancyHouse: Saltburn is this: an enormous English estate with several bedrooms, sitting rooms, and libraries, an adjacent lake, and a massive hedge maze.

* SpoiledSweet: Felix is a ''very'' RareMaleExample. He's LovedByAll at home and at Oxford, comes from extreme wealth and an aristratic lineage, refers casually to the priceless art they have at Saltburn, and is genuinely always very kind to Oliver--additionally, his mother comments that he's kind to everyone. However, he also seems somewhat oblivious to his own wealth and privilege, and is a bit possessive over Oliver.
* StiffUpperLip: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. The Cattons are a fairly repressed bunch, very rarely allowing themselves to feel things deeply. [[spoiler:After Felix is found dead, they try to muddle on through the day without acknowledging the gravity of the situation. The fact that they don't do a very good job of it at all only highlights the futility of such an attitude.]]

* SpoiledSweet: Felix is a ''very'' RareMaleExample. He's LovedByAll at home and at Oxford, comes from extreme wealth, refers casually to the priceless art they have at Saltburn, and is genuinely always very kind to Oliver. However, he also seems oblivious to his own wealth and privilege, is possessive over Oliver, and seems interested in him mostly for the novelty of his sad backstory.

* SystematicVillainTakedown: A loose definition of "villain": the characters that all take offence to Oliver or try to get rid of him are gradually taken out, though they are a variety of moral alignments. First, [[spoiler:Oliver frames Farleigh for stealing and gets him thrown out of Saltburn; then he poisons Felix to death after Felix finds out he lied about his backstory; then, because he wasn't able to take Farleigh out permanently with the jewellery theft, he plants drugs in his room and blames him for Felix's death; then he leaves Venetia alone with a razor in deep grief, apparently knowing she'll slit her wrists; Sir James dies without any (apparent) intervention from Oliver, but he exiled Oliver from Saltburn; then Oliver suffocates Elspeth and presumably poisoned her in the first place to make her dependent on him.]]

* RagsToRiches: Downplayed. [[spoiler:This ''would'' be a completely straight example, as Oliver ends up inheriting Saltburn (and presumably whatever is left of Elspeth's fortune) after killing her. However, while Oliver is nowhere near as wealthy as the Cattons, his sob story of drugs and addicted parents in horrific poverty is a total fabrication designed to appeal to Felix and the family, and his parents appear lower middle class at the very least.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[Oliver gets away with his role in destroying the entire Catton family and taking their estate for his own.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:More like a "sinister anti-hero", but nevertheless, Oliver gets away with his role in destroying the entire Catton family and taking their estate for his own.]]

** The three "older" women at Saltburn. Felix's mother Elspeth is blonde, her friend Pamela is a redhead, and Lady Daphne is brunette.

** Oliver is somewhere between this and AmbiguouslyGay. He's madly besotted with Felix (though explicitly denies being in love with him), he gives Farleigh a handjob, and he kisses and goes down on Venetia, but [[spoiler:was likely doing so just to get closer to the various Cattons in pursuit of Saltburn.]]

-->''"People get lost in Saltburn."''

''Saltburn'' is the upcoming second film written and directed by Creator/EmeraldFennell, her followup to 2020's ''Film/PromisingYoungWoman''.