Saltburn Review | Emerald Fennell’s Lewd Knockoff of The Talented Mr. Ripley

A seemingly shy and impoverished college student ingratiates himself into the privileged life of a handsome classmate. Saltburn salaciously romps through obvious psychological machinations, orgiastic revelry, and ruthless elitist culling at a lavish English estate. Body fluids take icky center stage as writer/director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) gleefully explores a pansexual sociopath’s twisted agenda. She essentially remakes Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley for the TikTok generation with a focus on glittering style and sensationalism over substance. Efforts to shock, disgust, and titillate devolve into banality. There are few surprises in a film that broadcasts its intentions.