I sometimes wonder how Paul Schrader gets away in criticizing other directors’ films. He usually does it via his Facebook account and it has resulted in his becoming one of the most followed directors on social media.
The latest target of Schrader’s is Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” which has had a wobbly journey ever since premiering at the Telluride Film Festival in September.
SALTBURN flips the Talented Mr Ripley formula in which the lower class arriviste undermines the establishment with his charm and beauty. In Saltburn the lower class boy is plain and the object he pursues is beauty personified. It’s an inversion which should not work. And it doesn’t.
When it comes to “Saltburn,” there seems to be a severe divide between critics and Oscar pundits — the latter seem to love the film. It currently has an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, but only a 62 on Metacritic.
Much of the criticisms seems to be about how it's been done before, and that it's not as iconoclastic as “Promising Young Woman”. There are a lot of comparisons to “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” with some saying that Fennell outright rips it off.
Fennell directed the Sundance sensation, “Promising Young Woman,” in 2020. She went on to win a Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. I don’t think she’ll be getting any Academy love for this latest one.
“Saltburn”, which takes place in the early aughts, is set in the college town of Saltburn, revolving around Barry Keoghan’s Ripley-like obsession with Jacob Elordi’s privileged, high-society character. The film is said to primarily take place in a mansion.
“Saltburn” is being released in U.S. theaters on November 17th. It will have its fair share of fans. I don’t think I’ll be watching this one until the second week of November.
I wouldn't call this film great — it stops short of that because of how neatly it resolves itself — but I'll give Rock his due here: this is much better than his previous directorial effort, "Top Five."