Saltburn feels like a very British Parasite (Review)

Emerald Fennel's Saltburn feels like very English version of Parasite. Other than trading up a Le Corbusier Korean mansion for a sprawling English Castle and Estate, the main difference is that with Parasite, we learn about the infiltrating Kim family from the outset, whilst with Saltburn the truth about Oliver is kept mostly under wraps until the end. This makes for a film that shares Parasite's suspense but adds an extra level of twistiness. Add to that a tactfully satirical exploration of the British class system, a banging soundtrack and a beautiful shot list, and you have a black comedy that is both thought provoking and captivating. It may even rival its award-studded Korean predecessor.

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[Starkardur]

It is a period drama. It takes place in 2006.

[ajiththomas]

I don't think class commentary is something that is or should be limited to the have-alls and have-nots; the role of the have-somes and their desperate urge to become a have-alls is also pertinent in regards to class commentary. Oliver tries to cosplay and LARP as being more poor and working class than he really is in order to gain sympathy and trust that he could exploit to his advantage, which would not be possible if he was upfront about being middle class.


It's the same dynamic that you see with millionaire and billionaire celebrities and politicians and businessmen who claim to be "self-made" but any actual investigation into their origins and it's made clear that they benefitted greatly from being from an upper middle class or higher family.

[catie]

the parasite comparison immediately crumbles when you find out oliver is (upper) middle class though lol. i really enjoyed the film but i think the attempted class commentary was quite shallow.

[notdwarflindsay]

i was totally on board with you all the way until the last sentence. parasite’s main theme and biggest strength was the commentary on classism based on culture/each class’ circumstances, but saltburn feels much more predatory based on ambition. i could agree that due to their motivated goals (desperate hunger vs predatory ambition) they could reflect each society’s “version” of a class commentary, but with oliver being upper middle class the analogy just feels flat, as if the rich people were genuine victims. it looses sight of what it wants to say in favor of chasing shock value and the surface level power dynamics, while parasite is infinitely more effective.

[peteradaniel]

It’s nothing like parasite. Parasite is a fable on class consciousness. This is just tripe about competing, posh Oxford grads.

[ajiththomas]

More like The Talented Mr. Ripley than Parasite but I could see at least how the relationships in Saltburn have a one-sided transcational quality.

[johnsmith]

Seems to owe more than a little to The Talented Mr Ripley.

[pb.j.]

Please stop insulting Parasite like this.

[leilabowman]

Clearly as it’s already been stated by the dictator, it’s a play on bridehead revived so stop trying to attach other comparisons to it

[s.w.d]

I was so excited about this movie but I was very disappointed. The ending is exactly what I expected it to be, even from the trailers. I don’t know why people are saying this film is a masterpiece & that it had so many twists and turns. I guess the movie had twists but they all led to the same very predictable & obvious ending, which is boring. People compare this film to The Talented Mr. Ripley which I do not understand AT ALL. What made that movie so good is that the audience never knew what Tom Ripley was going to do next or how far he would go. Oliver’s motives in Saltburn are predictable and they really don’t make sense, in my opinion. Oliver isn’t poor or lower class. We see that he comes from a wealthy background too, so his only motivation for vengeance is because Felix ignored him sometimes……….until he didn’t and invited Oliver to spend the summer with his family. Unlike in the talented Mr. Ripley, Tom is actually extremely poor & has to work multiple jobs just to survive to the next day. Tom idolizes the rich but he also hates and is offended by their easy & carefree lifestyle that wasn’t earned and taken for granted. Also it’s very clear that Tom Ripley is romantically attracted to Dickie and most of Tom’s attraction to Dickie, comes from Dickie’s wealthy and lavish lifestyle. So Tom’s actions towards Dickie Greenleaf make sense.
But again what was Oliver’s motivation for all of this? Yes he inherited money but he was already wealthy so why does that matter??? However, I liked the cinematography and the acting.

[ajiththomas]

1:26 Reference to the banger song "Common People" by Pulp.

[JimmyJimu]

Saltburn WISHES it were Parasite, or The Talented Mr. Ripley. I agree with the critic who said, "Fennell loses her creative self within this glaringly phony world of debauchery and opulence. As a result, things like narrative structure, story progression, and character development get tossed aside for warped and edgier grasps for attention."

[AH-bmxs]

Parasite is one of the top 10 or even 5 films of the century and one of the best of all time. I've got it 5th of the century so far, behind only films like In the Mood for Love and Mulholland Drive. Saltburn is a fairly lazy, unoriginal and not particularly highly skilled film that isn't even in the top 100 films of the year. I agree that the film relatively achieves what it sets out to do, it's just that what it sets out to do isn't exactly of high quality or ambition. It's very shallow and undeveloped. Kind of vacuous for the most part. Funnily enough, I actually really liked the film, I want to watch it again and show it to my girlfriend. But critically, it was just deeply disappointing.

[samfilmkid]

I think people hated it for what it wasn't instead of what it was: A fun, pulpy erotic thriller with class themes woven in but not at the center.

[allys]

I don’t think Saltburn is similar to Parasite. On the surface, they’re similar, but if you look closely, there are direct contradictions.
1. Oliver, unlike the family in Parasite, came from a well off family. Kim Woo and the rest of the characters were poor.
2. Kim woo and his family took desperate measures, but they didn’t resort to killing, especially murdering the entire rich family.
3. It doesn’t take long in the film to realize what a repugnant person Oliver is. In fact, you find yourself liking Felix, who seems innocent and genuine and also his delightfully cheerful parents. In Parasite, you don’t really like the two-faced rich family.
While Parasite may be an “eat the rich” kind of movie, Saltburn isn’t, because Oliver isn’t even poor and you sympathize with the Catton family.

[cocoromerolee]

Please don’t compare parasite to this Oxford teen movie

[dfa]

Parasite yes but nothing like Call me By Your Name. More like The Talented Mr Ripley.

[itsineffable]

There’s no way that Patrick Bateman wasn’t character inspiration for Oliver.

[Garrett]

Seems like the writers definitely intelligently cribbed from parasite.

[Jen-nmog]

Enjoyed your review and done in under 6 mins. However didn’t rate the movie which had promising elements but was under developed and disappointed in the third act.