Warning! Spoilers ahead for Saltburn.
Saltburn star Barry Keoghan explains the deeper meaning behind the film’s gross-out bathtub scene. Directed by Emerald Fennell as her follow-up to Promising Young Woman, the film stars Keoghan as Oliver, a student at Oxford University who finds himself spending the summer with Felix (Jacob Elordi), his wealthy classmate, at his posh estate. Saltburn has made waves online for a variety of shocking scenes, but none more so than a scene in which Oliver slurps bathwater from the bottom of a bathtub after Felix has ejaculated into it.
In a recent interview with GQ, Keoghan breaks down Saltburn‘s bathtub scene, explaining the moment’s significance as it relates to his character.
Keoghan also touches on how he approached the scene as an actor, explaining the importance of empathizing with his character. Check out the actor’s comment below:
“The bathtub scene is he’s submitting to this obsession and trying to figure out what it is he’s chasing. It’s almost like a sacrifice in how he lowers himself into the bath, physically. And when he gets down there, he’s just confused and helpless and sick, you know, to do that. But you can’t judge that as you’re playing him. I can judge it as a spectator, but I’ve gotta see justice to it and see that it’s the right thing to do.”
Is Saltburn Too Reliant On Shock Value?
If there’s one aspect of Saltburn that’s dominated online conversations, it’s the film’s many graphic scenes. This certainly includes the bathtub scene, but other talked-about moments include Oliver’s grave scene and his naked dance around the estate. While Saltburn‘s shocking ending and other scenes have evidently helped to make the film quite popular, there’s a larger conversation to be had about what else the film offers beyond shock value.
While the Saltburn critics’ reviews have generally skewed positive, there’s no question that the film has been somewhat divisive. Some critics praise Fennell’s big swings as a filmmaker and the combined acting talent of Keoghan and Elordi, but others have questioned just what the movie is actually trying to say. Saltburn is clearly touching on themes relating to class and wealth, but, it is argued, the movie doesn’t really have anything to say about them.
With arguments about just how much substance there is beneath Saltburn‘s style, it begs the question whether shock value and surprise narrative twists are enough. Considering the generally positive audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb (79% and 7.1, respectively), the answer would generally seem to be “yes,” but one’s mileage will clearly vary. For Keoghan, at least, Oliver’s shocking moments are all rooted in character.
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.
- Release Date
- November 17, 2023
- Director
- Emerald Fennell
- Cast
- Barry Keoghan , Jacob Elordi , Rosamund Pike , Richard E. Grant , Alison Oliver , Archie Madekwe , Carey Mulligan
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 131 Minutes
- Genres
- Comedy , Thriller
- Writers
- Emerald Fennell
- Studio(s)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , MRC , LuckyChap Entertainment , Lie Still
- Distributor(s)
- Amazon MGM Studios
