Saltburn
Saltburn is a new film on Amazon Prime
It’s about a poor boy called Oliver who goes to Oxford University. He is very clever but is socially awkward.
socially awkward = not good at talking to people
In his class is a boy called Felix who he admires. Felix is tall, good-looking, rich and popular.
Oliver helps Felix one day and they become friends. Oliver doesn’t want to go back to his home in the summer because his Dad is in prison and his Mum does drugs.
Felix says: “You should stay at my house for the summer.”
His house is a HUGE mansion. His Dad is a lord and friends often stay with them.
Oliver has to learn to be accepted in this high class world…
Each member of the family has a hidden problem and after Oliver starts living there a lot of crazy things happen.
Do you want to watch this film?
Do you think it was a hit?
The movie was made by Amazon for around $10 million. It quickly made $20 million globally and then immediately appeared on Amazon Prime.
Some reviews said:
How did Saltburn become the most talked-about film of awards season?
Is Saltburn the most divisive film of the year?
divisive (adj) = people strongly disagree about it
Some people hated it but some loved it. It was especially popular with young viewers and trended on social media.
Let’s look at WHY it was so popular…
Reason 1
People loved the locations (like Harry Potter). How would you describe them?
Reason 2
People were interested in seeing how upper class British people live.
Many British fans said: “I know people like this family!”
What’s your image of an upper class British lifestyle?
Servants look after them everyday
They have gorgeous dinner parties
They dress formally just to have dinner at home
They speak very openly and gossip
Reason 3
Jacob Elordi had a breakout role
breakout role = role that makes you a star (like Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic)
He’s been in a few teen dramas and rom-coms but this is his first hit in a big film
He has so much charisma on screen and many fans discovered him in this movie and talked about him on social media
charisma = ability to attract people, be interesting, or get attention
Did you ever watch a movie and were immediately impressed by an actor you hadn’t seen before?
Reason 4
There are several shocking scenes (surprising and disturbing) in the movie. Why has this made the movie more popular?
Saltburn's shocking bathtub scene is causing people to walk out the cinema
People talk about it on social media
People make reaction videos to the shocking scenes which they post on tiktok or instagram. They also post videos of family members reacting to the scenes
Reaction video = youtubers or tiktokers make videos of themselves reacting to new songs, movies or sports plays
Reason 5
In one scene, the main character dances naked through the huge mansion.
Many tiktokers made similar videos of themselves dancing through their house. Their fans became interested in the movie
https://www.tiktok.com/@rolythebug/video/7317746114206141739?_r=1&_t=8isy95qb3p2
https://www.tiktok.com/@olivia.apps/video/7319664164572613931?q=saltburn%20dance&t=1705922608083
People also made videos of their lives being like Saltburn:
https://www.tiktok.com/@evil_suki/video/7324759498768289056?q=saltburn%20life&t=1705922695250