‘Saltburn’ Review: A Vicious ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’ Knockoff From the Director of ‘Promising Young Woman’
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic It’s the moment of truth for Emerald Fennell, whose “Promising Young Woman” established the actor-turned-auteur (last seen playing pregnant doll Midge in “Barbie”) as a formidable new filmmaking talent.
Building on the barbed sensibility she established with “Killing Eve,” the writer-director’s zeitgeist-throttling feature debut lured audiences like a bright red candy apple, leaving them with plenty to debate after the cyanide-laced sugar high wore off.
But what exactly did that pop provocation promise, in terms of where Fennell’s wicked-sinister imagination might go next? Surely something more satisfying than “Saltburn.” But first the positive, as the shortcomings will swiftly make themselves apparent: A tall drink of Evelyn Waugh spiked with Patricia Highsmith bitters, Fennell’s sophomore feature boasts a distinctive, splashy look for its demented critique of pomp and privilege among England’s elitist upper class.
Picture Brideshead reduced to ashes by Tom Ripley (Saltburn is the name of a terribly posh estate where half the film takes place).
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