Alison Oliver Archives

Review: ‘Wuthering Heights’ (2026), starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi

February 9, 2026

by Carla Hay

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in “Wuthering Heights” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Wuthering Heights” (2026)

Directed by Emerald Fennell

Culture Representation: Taking place from 1771 to 1784, in North Yorkshire, England, the dramatic film “Wuthering Heights” (based on Emily Brontë’s 1837 novel of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Asian and black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A free-spirited and spoiled woman is torn between her taboo love for her foster brother and the financial stability provided by the wealthy man who ends up marrying her.

Culture Audience: “Wuthering Heights” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the book on which the movie is based, and sweeping romantic that explore topics such as forbidden love affairs, domestic abuse and socioeconomic status.

Shazad Latif in “Wuthering Heights” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

Writer/director Emerald Fennell’s version of “Wuthering Heights” is a more grown-up and more explicity erotic drama than previous cinematic adaptations. The movie has compelling performances and is a feast for the senses but is often style over substance. There are some “Wuthering Heights” purists who might never accept the revisions that this movie made to the original story. However, for viewers who are open-minded enough or curious enough to see a tempestuous tale of forbidden romance, social climbing, and love triangles in Georgian-era England, then Fennell’s 2026 version “Wuthering Heights” will be an intriguing movie experience.

Emily Brontë’s first and only novel, “Wuthering Heights” (published in 1837), has been adapted into several movies and a few miniseries. The 1939 film adaptation starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon is widely thought of as the best and most classic on-screen version of “Wuthering Heights.” The story takes place in North Yorkshire, England. Fennell’s 2026 version of “Wuthering Heights” was filmed at Sky Studios Elstree in Borehamwood, United Kingdom.

The biggest changes that the 2026 movie version of “Wuthering Heights” makes from the book are the movie shortens the book’s timeline (and therefore omits a great deal of the book), and the movie changes the ages of the two leading characters (Catherine Earnshaw and her foster brother Heathcliff) who are involved in the forbidden romance. In the “Wuthering Heights” book, the timeline is from 1701 to 1802, and the two leading characters are in their teens when they fall in love with each other. In the 2026 movie version of “Wuthering Heights,” the main characters are in their 20s when they begin their secret affair.

The 2026 version of “Wuthering Heights” opens with a graphically morbid scene with a sound design that is deliberately misleading. Before anything is shown on screen, there are the sounds of heavy breathing and grunting, which could be the sounds of someone in sexual ecstasy. But the camera eventually shows that it’s really the sound of a hooded man gasping for air during his public hanging witnessed by dozens of people in a town square.

Among the spectators are Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw (played by Charlotte Mellington), who’s about 11 or 12 years old, and her loyal housemaid Nelly (played by Vy Nguyen), who’s a few years older than Catherine. The public hanging is treated like a sporting spectacle by the people who watch it. They cheer, they get drunk, and they celebrate during and after the hanging. Catherine is among the people who cheer, because this type of public execution is considered normal in this particular society.

It’s the movie’s way of showing that this version of “Wuthering Heights” won’t erase the barbaric customs of this era. In fact, all of Fennell’s 2026 version of “Wuthering Height” is an artistic study in the brutal and beautiful and how they can both co-exist not just within the characters but also in their lifestyles. After the public hanging, Catherine and Nelly frolic in the fields.

Nelly is Catherine’s closest friend and the person who brings her the most happiness at this particular time in her childhood. Catherine and Nelly both have “daddy issues.” Nelly is the illegitimate child of an English lord who does not want to acknowledge her. Catherine’s widowed father Mr. Earnshaw (played by Martin Clunes) is an abusive lout who is addicted to alcohol and gambling. (His first name is not mentioned in the movie.) Mr. Earnshaw and his addictions will eventually ruin the Earnshaw family’s finances.

During Catherine’s childhood that’s depicted in the movie, it’s the beginning of the end of the Earnshaw family’s life of luxury. They still have servants, but these servants have not been getting paid on a regular basis. The Earnshaw manor, located in the North York Moors, is also falling into shambles and disrepair. Amid this downward spiral, Mr. Earnshaw brings home a “street urchin” named Heathcliff (played by Owen Cooper), who’s about the same age as Catherine.

When this homeless boy was taken in as a foster child by Mr. Earnshaw, he actually didn’t have a name. Catherine is the one who named him Heathcliff, the same name as her older dead brother. The foster child Heathcliff is uneducated and emotionally withdrawn when he begins living with the Earnshaws. Catherine teaches him how to read (she’s a very bossy instructor) and eventually gets him to open up to her, as they become closer.

Just like in the book, Catherine and Heathcliff develop an extremely tight emotional bond to each other. The profess their undying love and loyalty to each other. Their feelings for each other become obsessive. But as the approach puberty, there’s a romantic attraction between them that grows even stronger when they reach adulthood.

Catherine and Heathcliff both get damaged from Mr. Earnshaw’s physical and emotional abuse. Heathcliff gets worse abuse than Catherine. When Mr. Earnshaw is drunk (which is often), he can suddenly go into raging tantrums over the slightest thing.

One of the movie’s last scenes of Catherine and Heathcliff in childhood shows Mr. Earnshaw going on an angry rampage because Catherine and Heathcliff are late to his birthday dinner. Catherine and Heathcliff had been playing outside and got caught in a sudden downpour of rain. The kids would have made it home in time if Catherine had not insisted on that they play a little longer before the unexpected rain happened.

Mr. Earnshaw demands to know why Catherine and Heathcliff are tardy. Before Catherine can say anything, Heathcliff lies and says Catherine wanted to go home earlier, but he prevented them from going. As a result of taking all of blame, Heathcliff gets a severe whipping from Mr. Earnshaw. The physical abuse that Heathcliff experienced in his childhood leaves physical and emotional scars into his adulthood.

As adults, Catherine (played by Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (played by Jacob Elordi) exchange lustful and longing glances but keep their feelings of sexual attraction suppressed for quite some time because their social class divide has put an invisible barrier between them. Heathcliff is a scruffy servant who does a lot of work in the horses’ stables. And despite Mr. Earnshaw’s dwindling fortunes, Catherine is expected to marry someone on her social-class level or above.

There’s also the matter of Catherine and Heathcliff growing up as siblings. Even though they’re not biologically related to each other, the sexual feelings that Catherine and Heathcliff have could be considered emotional incest. It’s why the book version of “Wuthering Heights” and many on-screen and stage versions of the book do not have Catherine and Heathcliff sexually consummate their relationship.

That’s not the case with Fennell’s 2026 version of “Wuthering Heights.” The sex scenes between Catherine and Heathcliff start off as slow-burn seduction. Catherine often plays mind games with Heathcliff, as she goes back and forth between “hot” and “cold” in how she expresses her feelings toward him. Her heart wants Heathcliff, but her head dictates that she needs to make a more practical choice in choosing a love partner and future husband.

The biggest love triangle in the story happens when the Earnshaws (who live several kilometers away from their closest neighbors) get new neighbors who are very wealthy. Edgar Linton (played by Shazad Latif) is a businessman heir and the head of the Linton household. Just like Catherine, Edgar has a foster sibling, but Edgar’s feelings for her are like a caring older brother.

Edgar’s foster sister is Isabella Linton (played by Alison Oliver), who is about 15 years younger than Edgar. Because their parents are deceased, Edgar has guardianship of Isabella. Edgar is calm and level-headed but he is accustomed to getting what he wants. Isabella is a socially awkward and emotionally immature eccentric. She plays with dolls (even though she’s in her 20s) and makes unusual arts and crafts.

Catherine sends mail to invite the Lintons over to the Earnshaw house as a friendly welcome and to size up bachelor Edgar as a potential husband. However, the Lintons ignore Catherine’s invitations. Out of frustration and curiosity, Catherine goes over to the Linton manor uninvited and unannounced.

Catherine sees Edgar and Isabella dining outside and climbs a tree to spy on them. However, her spying is cut short when she falls down. Edgar hears the noise and sees Catherine, who is flustered and embarrassed, but she tries to pretend that she isn’t. Edgar knows that Catherine was probably spying, but he doesn’t care because he’s instantly smitten.

The rest of “Wuthering Heights” is about what happens in the love triangle between Heathcliff, Catherine and Edgar. And another love triangle of sorts develops when Isabella develops a huge crush on Heathcliff. And there’s yet another love triangle that isn’t sexual but it’s between Catherine, Heathcliff and Nelly. That’s because Nelly, who used to be Catherine’s best friend before Heathcliff came along, has a lot of unspoken resentment that Heathcliff has become the most important person in Catherine’s life.

Because all of the characters in these love triangles are adults (and not teenagers) when the heart of the story happens, there’s a lot more room for the movie’s sexual content aimed at mature viewers. However, some people might think the movie’s sex scenes cheapen the original intention of the “Wuthering Heights” book and turns the story into something like a tawdry romance novel. Other people might think romantic/sexual activity in this 2026 version of “Wuthering Heights” is more realistic than the toned-down version that was published in 1837.

Whatever people think of this sexed-up version of “Wuthering Heights,” there’s no doubt that Robbie as Catherine and Elordi as Heathcliff have believable chemistry and bring a lot passion to their roles. Catherine and Heathcliff are both realistically flawed and conflicted in ways that do justice to how the characters were intended to be in the book. However, the movie tends to gloss over the emotional incest aspects of the Catherine/Heathcliff relationship and focuses more on social class and wealth (or lack thereof) as the main reasons why Catherine and Heathcliff experience sabotage and shame in their relationship.

The performances from the supporting cast members bring humanity to what could be one-note characters. Latif depicts Edgar as sometimes in denial but always aware of the precarious ways that Heathcliff can affect the Linton family. Chau’s portrayal of Nelly is as someone who appears stoic and loyal but has a lifetime of rejection feuling her unspoken bitterness.

Oliver’s version of Isabelle is as a hapless woman-child who’s caught between the manipulations of Catherine and Heathcliff. Isabelle is both tragic as well as comic relief in the movie. Meanwhile, Clunes’ role as Mr. Earnshaw brings authenticity to a character who evokes complicated feelings of love and loathing that children have when they are raised by someone with addiction issues.

The movie’s production design, costume design and cinematography are excellent, especially in conveying the contrasts in Catherine’s life before and after she marries Edgar. Fennell’s version “Wuthering Heights” revels in glamour as well as some gore. It’s the type of movie that has sweeping shots of of people riding on horseback in lush green fields, as they race against time to go to the ones they love; tight corsets as symbols of masochism; gorgeously decorated rooms where fashionably dressed people eat lavish meals; voyeurism of a couple having BDSM sex in a horse stable; close-ups of scars and bloody injuries; and house walls painted and designed as human flesh.

This version of “Wuthering Heights” also features original songs from pop singer Charli XCX, in the movie’s attempt to bring an urban nightclub vibe to this movie’s rural Gothic romance. Some viewers will love these unconventional musical choices. Others viewers will think these Charli XCX songs are just pandering to the generation of people who are most of her fans, in a cynical attempt to sell more soundtracks for this movie.

At 136 minutes, the movie is a bit too long and could have reduced some of the extraneous screen time showing the childhoods of Catherine and Heathcliff. Is this version of “Wuthering Heights” destined to be a classic? Probably not, but there’s enough sumptuousness and sizzle that should appeal to anyone who wants to get swept up in a bittersweet love story that’s a risk-taking re-imagining of a classic book.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release “Wuthering Heights” in U.S. cinemas on February 13, 2026.

Review: ‘The Order’ (2024), starring Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver and Marc Maron

December 15, 2024

by Carla Hay

Jude Law, Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sheridan in “The Order” (Photo courtesy of Vertical)

“The Order” (2024)

Directed by Justin Kurzel

Culture Representation: Taking place from 1983 to 1984, in Washington state, Colorado, Idaho, and California, the dramatic film “The Order” (based on real events) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans and Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Law enforcement officials investigate and battle against a radical and violent group of white supremacists.

Culture Audience: “The Order” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and suspenseful and well-acted movies about cops versus criminals.

Nicholas Hoult in “The Order” (Photo courtesy of Vertical)

“The Order” capably tells a tension-filled story based on real events of American law enforcement battling against white supremacists in the 1980s. The acting performances are the main reason to watch this somewhat formulaic dramatic re-enactment. The fact that this true story was made into a movie is already an indication of which side won this battle.

Directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin, “The Order” is adapted from the 1989 non-fiction book “The Silent Brotherhood,” written by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt. “The Order” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, and then made the rounds at other film festivals in 2024, including the Toronto International Film Festival and AFI Fest. The movie takes place from 1983 to 1984, in the U.S. states of Washington, Colorado, Idaho, and California.

“The Order” begins with a brief scene taking place at KOA Radio studios in Denver. KOA talk show host Alan Berg (played by Marc Maron), who is politically liberal and Jewish, is having a heated discussion with a phone caller. The caller doesn’t say his real name, but he is Gary Yarbrough (played by George Tchortov), a ruthless member of the Order, a radical group of white supremacists who have splintered off from the Aryan Nation. Alan is an outspoken critic of these types of hate groups, who believe that people who are white, cisgender, heterosexual and Christian are superior to everyone else. And as soon as this argument is shown in the movie, you just know that Alan will be shown later in the movie in horrible circumstances.

“The Order” than has a scene of taking place in Spokane, Washington, on December 18, 1983. A man is taken into a wooded area at night and is shot dead. The murder victim is later revealed to be Walter “Walt” West (played by Daniel Doheny), who had been printing counterfeit bills for the Order. The Order members who murdered Walt are Gary (who looks like a scruffy militia man) and Bruce Pierce (played by Sebastian Pigott), Gary’s best friend, who is not as vicious as Gary, but he’s still full of hate and doesn’t hesitate to get violent.

The leader of the Order is Bob Mathews (played by Nicholas Hoult), who deceptively looks like a clean-cut and upstanding family man. In reality, Bob is the mastermind of the violent crimes committed by the Order. Later scenes show that Bob created the Order because he thinks the Aryan Nation isn’t acting fast enough and is too “soft” on its goals for white supremacist domination. The Order uses the 1978 white nationalist novel “The Turner Diaries” (written by Andrew Macdonald, an alias for Luther Pierce) as a handbook for many of the Order’s goals and criminal activities.

After the murder of Walt (who was killed because he was perceived as a potential snitch), Bob, Gary, Bruce and a recent Order recruit named David Lane (played by Phillip Forest Lewitski) commit an armed robbery of a bank in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The four robbers (who wore masks during the bank robbery) are elated to get away with this crime, where luckily none of the robbery victims got killed or injured. It’s later revealed that the Order funds its activities and pays its members through robberies of banks and armored vehicles. The Order also bombs buildings that are owned by targets of their hate.

When Bob gets home, he shows his wife Debbie Mathews (played by Alison Oliver) the loot of cash that he got in the robbery. Debbie is happy to see the money that Bob shows to her, and she knows that it’s stolen money, but she has a “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude about Bob’s criminal activities. She doesn’t approve of people getting murdered, but Debbie’s ethical boundary on what she considers “unacceptable crimes” isn’t shown until much later in the movie.

These first few opening scenes are somewhat jumbled and could have done a better job of establishing the names of these characters. It isn’t until later in the movie that these characters’ names, roles and personalities are put into clearer perspective. It’s a flaw that the movie tends to repeat when introducing other characters.

The law enforcement official who leads the investigation of the Order is FBI agent Terry Husk (played by Jude Law), who has recently moved to Spokane. Terry is separated from his wife, who lives in another state with their two daughters, who are about 6 and 8 years old. Terry is hoping that his wife and daughters will eventually move to Spokane to live with him. But it eventually becomes obvious that this relocation won’t happen when Terry calls his estranged wife one day and finds out that her phone number has been disconnected.

The movie is purposely vague about other information about Terry’s life before he moved to Spokane. He has a surgery scar going down the middle of his chest. He gets nosebleeds. And when his FBI colleague Joanne Carney (played by Jurnee Smollett) shows up in Spokane, she mentions that she heard about Terry’s “scare in New York.” When Terry tells Joanne that his wife and children are expected to move to Spokane, so he “put the pieces back together,” Joanne looks very skeptical that Terry will be reunited with his family.

“The Order” doesn’t dwell too long on Terry’s personal problems because the bulk of the film is about tracking down and apprehending members of the Order. Joanne isn’t seen for most of the movie until near the end. Terry actually gets most of his help from Jamie Bowen (played by Tye Sheridan), a deputy in the local sheriff’s office, who is also eager to bring these criminals to justice.

Jamie is helpful because he grew up in the area where the Order is headquartered. In a scene where Jamie and Terry question Walt’s wife Bonnie Sue Harris (played by Geena Meszaros), Jamie is able to gain her trust because he’s known Bonnie Sue since they were students at the same high school. Bonnie Sue doesn’t trust Terry because she sees him as a “bad cop” outsider.

“The Order” spends a lot of time showing how Bob uses his influence to get his followers to do his bidding. At a church run by an Aryan Nation reverend named Richard Butler, Bob gets up during a service and upstages the reverend by giving a rousing speech that culminates with Bob leading the audience to chant “White power!” Bob thinks that the Aryan Nation plan to get the Aryan Nation members elected to political offices and other powerful positions is a strategy that is too old-fashioned and will take too long.

Bob is also shrewd about masking his radical intentions of the Order. In an early scene in the movie, he commands Gary and Bruce to stop burning crosses in front of the place where the Order’s meetings are held, because burning crosses will draw attention to their lair. Terry and Jamie later find out that Gary and Bruce were ousted from the Reverend Butler’s church because Gary and Bruce were using the church’s printing press to make counterfeit bills.

As the leader of the investigation, Terry is astute and logical, but he can sometimes rub people the wrong way, because he can be prickly and arrogant. With his personal life in shambles, Terry becomes consumed by the investigation and expects Jamie to have the same attitude. Jamie also has two underage kids. However, unlike Terry, Jamie is happily married.

Someone who is not a fan of Terry is Kimmy Bowen (played by Morgan Holmstrom), Jamie’s wife who was Jamie’s high school sweetheart. Kimmy tells Terry—in a conversation that starts out cordial and soon turns tense—that she doesn’t like it when Terry goes over to the Bowen family home and talks about the investigation while the kids are there. “You scare me,” Kimmy candidly tells Terry.

Bob’s home life is not as tranquil as it appears to be. Bob and Debbie have a son named Clinton (played by Huxley Fisher), who’s about 4 or 5 years old. Clinton is adopted because Debbie cannot biologically conceive children. Debbie is insecure about her infertility because she knows how important it is for white supremacist Bob to pass on his bloodline to biological children. Bob has a secret that he’s keeping from Debbie. This secret is eventually revealed to viewers.

During the course of the story, another recruit is welcomed into the Order: Tony Torres (played by Matias Lucas), who has recently moved from Seattle and is a friend of David, who introduces Tony to Bob. Tony blames black people for his recent job loss. Tony also hates black people because Tony’s best friend in high school was killed by a black person. Bob asks Tony what his ethnicity is because Tony’s last name is Torres. Tony is quick to say that he’s of white Spaniard heritage, so that he can be accepted into this hate group.

“The Order” is essentially becomes a “cat and mouse” type of hunt, with only two characters showing any complexity in their personalities: Terry and Bob. The movie’s other characters are not quite fully developed enough to be anything beyond generic, even though all of the principal cast members show talent in their performances. “The Order” is a crime thriller but it’s also a commentary on the insidiousness of hate groups and how they will continue to exist as long as people think that different identity groups are inferior.

Vertical released “The Order” in U.S. cinemas on December 6, 2024.

Review: ‘Saltburn,’ starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver and Archie Madekwe

November 17, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Saltburn”

Directed by Emerald Fennell

Culture Representation: Taking place in England, mostly in 2006, the comedy/drama film “Saltburn” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A mysterious Oxford University student becomes infatuated with his rich male classmate, who invites him to spend the summer with him at his family’s sprawling estate, where mind games and chaos ensue.

Culture Audience: “Saltburn” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and movies that skewer the upper class of society.

Jacob Elordi in “Saltburn” (Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios)

“Saltburn” seems inspired by “Brideshead Revisited” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” with a touch of “Absolutely Fabulous. “Although not as great as these inspirations, “Saltburn” has memorable performances and eye-catching scenes. The ending has a major plot hole. This plot hole might be easily overlooked during the sequence of events that are meant to shock viewers, but it’s a plot hole that nearly ruins what could have been a completely believable conclusion. Hint: “Saltburn” ignores the fact that coroners exist.

Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, “Saltburn” is her second feature film as a writer/director, following her 2020 feature-film directorial debut, “Promising Young Woman,” which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. “Saltburn” has many recycled plot points from other movies, so “Saltburn” is not really all that original, but it does have some scenes that are fairly unique. “Saltburn” had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.

“Saltburn” (which takes place mostly in 2006) begins by showing the arrival of a new student at Oxford University in England: Oliver Quick (played by Barry Keoghan) has joined the graduating Class of 2006 sometime in December 2005, close to the Christmas holiday season. Oliver is a loner who is the type of overachieving student who will read every book on a professor’s recommended list, even though he doesn’t have to do all that work.

One of the first people Oliver meets at Oxford is one of his roommates: Michael Gavey (played by Ewan Mitchell), who wants to be Oliver’s friend and is even nerdier and more socially awkward than Oliver is. Michael is the type of dork who will bark out demands that Oliver prove his knowledge of answers to random questions that Michael verbally throws at him. Michael likes to feel intellectually superior to almost everyone, even though he secretly craves acceptance from the popular students in the school.

The most popular clique in the class is led by a wealthy heartthrob named Felix Catton (played by Jacob Elordi), who uses his good looks and charm to get whatever he wants. The Catton family’s opulent and sprawling estate is called Saltburn. The other students in Felix’s clique are also affluent and/or come from prominent families.

The opening scene of “Saltburn” shows Oliver saying, “I wasn’t in love with him. I loved him, of course, Everyone loved him … I protected him … But was I in love with him?” Before he answers that question, the movie shows Oliver’s arrival at Oxford.

The “him” in Oliver’s opening monologue is Felix, of course. Oliver seems instantly infatuated with Felix the moment that he sees Felix. Oliver admires Felix from afar, until one day, Oliver is riding his bike on campus, when he sees Felix looking dejected as Felix is sitting near a tree-lined bikeway path. Oliver stops and asks Felix what’s wrong. Felix says that his bicycle has a flat tire.

Felix explains that he’s already late for a class, which is too far away for him to walk in order not to miss most of the class session. Oliver generously lets Felix borrow Oliver’s bike. A grateful Felix later invites Oliver to hang out with Felix and his inner circle at a local pub. It’s the beginning of a friendship between Felix and Oliver, who quickly shuns Michael after Oliver is accepted into Felix’s clique. Michael isn’t too happy about this rejection and later makes some hilarious cutting remarks to Oliver about Oliver’s social climbing.

Someone who also isn’t happy about Oliver joining the group is Felix’s American cousin Farleigh Start (played by Archie Madekwe), who sees Oliver as a socially inferior interloper. Farleigh already had a grudge against Oliver, who embarrassed Farleigh in front of one of their teachers named Professor Ware (played Reece Shearsmith), when Oliver showed he knew more than Farleigh about the topic of discussion.

However, Farleigh still has some clout with the professor, who confesses that Farleigh’s mother (a famous actress named Fredrika Start, who’s never seen in the movie) was his crush when he and Fredrika were students at Oxford. People who watch “Saltburn” shouldn’t miss the first 15 minutes of the movie, which quickly explains the backstories of Farleigh and Oliver, who end up having a rivalry over Felix’s attention.

Farleigh’s mother moved to the United States, where Farleigh was born and raised. She had some kind of mental breakdown and has financial problems, so she sent Farleigh to live at Saltburn, because her brother is Sir James Catton (played by Richard E. Grant), who is Felix’s father. Farleigh’s father is not in Farleigh’s life. It’s mentioned Farleigh has been expelled from many schools for getting sexually involved with male teachers. Farleigh feels a lot of resentment and shame for having to ask his uncle James for money.

As for Oliver, the word has gotten around to many students at the school that he’s on a scholarship. Oliver tells people that he is an only child, and his estranged parents are heavily involved in drugs. According to Oliver, his father is a drug dealer who’s been in and out of prison. His mother is a drug addict and an alcoholic. Oliver hints that he experienced a lot of abuse and trauma in his childhood. Oliver makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with his parents.

“Saltburn” breezes by the academic year to show the graduation of Oxford’s Class of 2006. With no immediate plans after graduation, Felix invites Oliver to stay for the summer with the Catton family at Saltburn. The best parts of the movie take place at Saltburn, which is not only a playground for the family’s indulgences but also a prison of bottled-up resentments, sexual manipulation, and psychological warfare. Oliver gets swept up in it all.

The other members of the Catton family at Saltburn are Felix’s self-centered and vapid mother Elspeth Catton (played by Rosamund Pike) and Felix’s jaded and insecure late-teens sister Venetia Catton (played by Alison Oliver), who have some of the best lines in the movie. Elspeth is the type of person who will smile and pretend that her insults are compliments. Venetia, who has an eating disorder, is both rebellious and needy.

All of the Catton family members don’t do much at Saltburn except smoke, drink, eat lavish meals, lounge around, and have parties. When the younger members of the family play tennis, they wear tuxedos and party clothes. The family has a longtime butler named Duncan (played by Paul Rhys), whose “stiff upper lip” mannerisms suggest that he’s heard and seen a lot of unmentionable things at Saltburn, but he is loyally discreet.

Carey Mulligan (the star of “Promising Young Woman”) has a small supporting role in “Saltburn” as Elspeth’s tattooed friend Pamela, who is staying at Saltburn after getting out of drug rehab. Pamela has overstayed her welcome, but Elspeth won’t come right out and tell Pamela to leave. The snappy rapport between redhead Pamela and blonde Elspeth will remind “Absolutely Fabulous” sitcom fans of the rapport between “Absolutely Fabulous” substance-abusing fashionista friends Edina “Eddie” Monsoon (the redhead) and Patricia “Patsy” Stone (the blonde).

“Saltburn” unpeels the layers of Oliver, who at first seems in awe and somewhat overwhelmed to be in the presence of the Catton family’s wealth. Slowly but surely, it’s revealed that there’s a lot more to Oliver than what he first appeared to be. And there are some things he does in the movie (especially those involving bodily fluids) that are intended to make viewers uncomfortable.

Keoghan gives a fascinating performance as Oliver, who is quite the chameleon. Madekwe is compelling in his depiction of the very snarky Farleigh, Oliver’s main adversary. Pike and Oliver are also standouts for their portrayals of a mother and daughter who are caught between smug vanity and crippling self-doubt. Look beneath the physically attractive surfaces of Elspeth and Venetia, and you’ll see two women who hate that their worth is defined by how they look and how much wealth they have.

Elordi is also quite good in his role as Felix, who is shallow but is a less-toxic member of the Catton family. “Saltburn” plays with viewers’ expectations of whether or not ladies’ man Felix will acknowledge Oliver’s obvious infatuation with Felix. And if so, what will be done about it? And what if Oliver gets rejected?

“Saltburn” has some stunning cinematography (by Linus Sandgren) that alternates between bright hues of idyllic luxury and the shadowy darkness of secrets and decadence. The movie’s production design and costume design are also noteworthy. “Saltburn” has some intense emotional scenes that are well-acted with clever dialogue.

Where “Saltburn” stumbles the most is in the last 20 minutes of the movie, which will be divisive to viewers. The concluding part of “Saltburn” is very suspenseful, but when answers to mysteries are finally revealed, they are rushed through the story and just create more questions that the movie never bothers to answer. Still, there’s no denying that the cast members’ performances are worth watching. And the movie’s flaws are outnumbered by the areas where “Saltburn” excels.

Amazon MGM Studios released “Saltburn” in select U.S. cinemas on November 17, 2023, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on November 22, 2023. Prime Video will premiere “Saltburn” on December 22, 2023.