Spoiler warning: Spoilers for Saltburn follow. Dust off your Britney Spears-inspired baby tees, we’re here to talk about Saltburn. With an iconic 2000s pop soundtrack, lots of bleached hair and flashy accessories, and a cast led by Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, it’s pretty clear why Saltburn has been one of the most talked about films released during the 2023 holiday season. Even though Saltburn was released in theaters on November 17, everyone has been meticulously going through the film and noticing little details that may have given away some of the most important plot points.
After watching Saltburn, I left the theater with a few questions that I need to address. If you’re like me and have questions after watching Saltburn for the first time, I completely understand. Here are some of the questions I’m still asking myself after finishing Saltburn.
Did Oliver really love Felix?
In the opening scene of Saltburn, we are immediately introduced to an older version of our main character, Oliver Quick, as he reflects on his relationship with Felix Catton. It becomes clear that Felix is no longer present in the modern day, but Oliver still talks about him fondly. Oliver recalls how everyone around him adored Felix and how they would “put on a show” for him, and often would question if Oliver himself loved Felix. Oliver claims that he hated Felix, but throughout Saltburn, we take notice of Oliver’s infatuated glares and amazement toward Felix.
Felix is the most desirable person around Oxford and we can tell that Oliver is immediately enchanted by him and the persona he’s been able to create. Even though Oliver may have disliked Felix, it’s clear that it was rather the opposite from the way Oliver acts around him.
Where did Farleigh go at the end of the film?
One of the central characters of Saltburn has one of the biggest unanswered mysteries of the film. Throughout Saltburn, we’re introduced to Felix’s cousin, Farleigh, who’s from America and attends Oxford with him. Farleigh is apprehensive of Oliver’s extended stay at Saltburn throughout the summer of 2007 and is the first to catch on that Oliver seems to be leaching onto the extreme wealth of the Cattons. After Felix’s death, Oliver blames Farleigh in order to cast him out of the family, which ends up working. The Cattons kick Farleigh out of the estate, and it’s unclear what happens to him after that. Perhaps Farleigh went back to America and finished his schooling there, but we are left on an open-ended note with this character.
What really happened to Pamela?
When Oliver first arrives at Saltburn for the summer, he realizes that he’s not the only guest who will be staying with the Cattons for the time being. A friend of the Cattons, Pamela, has been staying at the estate for a long time, presumably hiding out from her murderous ex-lover. Oliver begins to put lies in Elspeth’s about Pamela, calling her a liar in order for Pamela to be isolated from Saltburn. After Pamela leaves Saltburn, it’s revealed that she dies a few days later, except no one bats an eye. It’s not particularly clear how Pamela dies, but it’s possible that Oliver telling lies about Pamela causing her to leave Saltburn may have revealed her new location to her ex.
Did Oliver really want Saltburn at the start of the film?
Towards the end of Saltburn, it’s revealed that Oliver had planned his meeting with Felix at the bike rack and had been trying to get into his inner circle for some time. Oliver ends up getting Saltburn as a result of taking down the Cattons one by one, but it’s important to question if Oliver really wanted Saltburn at the start. We see Oliver struggle with making friends and wanting to seem like an extraordinary person, but he failed to retain attention from others. Felix, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. I think that Oliver just wanted Felix’s attention and admiration, but something changed when Felix found out that Oliver had been lying to him. It’s wasn’t until that very moment that Oliver decided that he needed to take down Felix, and the entire estate.
Did Venetia know that Oliver killed Felix?
Venetia, Felix’s sister, plays a crucial part in how Saltburn is presented and perceived. Venetia spends most of her time in the estate by herself and seems to be incredibly close to Felix when he arrives back home to Saltburn. However, it’s worth noting that after Felix dies under mysterious circumstances, Venetia begins to notice that perhaps Oliver isn’t who he’s presented himself to be. After all, Oliver shows up to Saltburn and Felix gets killed. He’s partially the reason why Farleigh was kicked out of Saltburn in the first place. In a scene during the third act, Venetia calls Oliver a “moth” and proclaims that he eats everything in sight. It’s not explicitly said if Venetia is aware of the fact that Oliver killed Felix, but it’s left for us to decide if she’s aware of Oliver’s grand plan to take the estate for himself.
Whether you’re on your first watch or your fifth, it’s clear that Saltburn’s twists and turns have made an impact on social media. It’s a film that will have people talking and posting about it for the next few weeks to come, and I can’t wait to see what more people have to say.