Warning: This article contains spoilers for Saltburn.
Barry Keoghan explains how one of Saltburn’s most controversial scenes came to be. Directed by Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell, the film follows the story of working-class college student Oliver (Keoghan) who is invited to stay at the mansion estate of his uber-wealthy friend Felix (Jacob Elordi). Saltburn stars Keoghan and Elordi alongside a supporting cast of Richard E. Grant, Carey Mulligan, and Rosamund Pike, and has been the subject of copious discussion online.
Speaking on the Golden Globes red carpet (via Deadline), Keoghan reveals that Saltburn’s much-discussed grave scene was actually improvised. According to the actor, he “wanted to see what Oliver would do next” in conceptualizing the grave scene. So, the scene ended up being shot in one take, which came out in a way that Keoghan thought “was right.” Check out the full quote from Keoghan below:
“I wanted to see what Oliver would do next. I wanted to see what the next level of obsession was. And by that [I mean], I just wanted the camera to roll. Not to kind of preempt it or rehearse it and what happened, happened. It was one take, and I think it was right. It moved the story forward.”
What Is The Most Shocking Scene in Saltburn? (And Is It The Grave Scene?)
Saltburn has received largely favorable reviews among critics, but that has not stopped the film from shocking audiences, as the film’s bold scenes are ripe for discourse. Some of the film’s most talked about scenes include the bathtub scene, the period blood scene, the grave scene, and the ending dance sequence. All of these scenes include a degree of nudity or salaciousness that is not normally witnessed in the mainstream, leading to a lot of controversy online.
The grave scene occurs following Felix’s funeral, who viewers later find out was intentionally drugged by Oliver. After Felix’s family clears the scene, Oliver has a moment alone at his fallen friend’s graveside. Instead of delivering flowers or sweetly soliloquizing as a tribute to the young man, Oliver fully undresses, lies his naked body face down on the freshly-laid gravesoil, and has an obscene final goodbye: having sex with Felix’s grave.
Saltburn Ending Explained: What Really Happened To Felix
The ending of Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn is built on a web of lies spun by Oliver Quick and reveals the twisted layers of his obsession with Felix.
At this point, audiences have already witnessed Oliver’s twisted attraction towards Felix, most notably through an earlier scene where Oliver laps up Felix’s used bathwater after witnessing his friend masturbating in the tub. The grave scene is thus slightly less shocking than the earlier scene because this warped sensuality is teased earlier on. Nonetheless, Saltburn’s grave scene is incredibly jarring to viewers, as there is a malevolent coldness to its hedonism. So, while the bathtub scene may be the most shocking moment in Saltburn, the grave scene gives it a run for its money in its provocativeness.
Saltburn
Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn is a 2023 comedy-thriller film. When Oxford student Oliver Quick is invited to his friend Felix’s family’s wealthy estate, Saltburn, for a summer vacation, he is drawn into the world of eccentric characters and increasingly chaotic events as his obsession with Felix comes to a head.
