Barry Keoghan Photo: Courtesy of PrimeMore than any film I’ve seen this year, Emerald Fennell ’s “Saltburn” is guaranteed to generate a strong reaction: The first time I saw it I had the impression that half the audience wanted to find Ms. Fennell in order to congratulate her, and the other half wanted to burn down the theater.
I was surprised to be on the applauding side, having been in the arson-curious portion of the audience after Ms. Fennell’s previous outing as writer-director, the 2020 feminist revenge saga “Promising Young Woman,” a rookie effort that won her the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Like that film, “Saltburn” is a black comedy with a twist-filled script, this time set among the swells at Ms. Fennell’s alma mater, the University of Oxford, and at the country estate that gives the film its title.
Persons:
Barry Keoghan, Emerald Fennell, ”, Fennell, Fennell’s
Organizations:
University of Oxford
Locations:
alma