Saltburn Explained | Ending Explained

Hope my research and ideas help you out and offer some new insights! What were your thoughts and ideas around Saltburn? I would love to discuss! Let me know below!

I think when Pamela died and no one thought twice about it gave Oliver the idea and confidence to start thinking about killing everyone else as well

i kinda thought how when Oliver threw the rock of his ''dead'' dad into the river but it actually hit landed on the rocks, foreshadows his lying and deception

It's very subtle, however, Oliver waking up from the "kings" bed in the end, before he began dancing, illustrates his bliss of achieving the highest possible status. Nothing beats the king in the castle. Similarly, he followed the exact same route that Felix took him on the tour in the beginning until he is met with the puppet box. The puppet box symbolizing that the family was that from the very beginning and he only had to pull the strings to get them to dance to achieve the power he wanted most of all.

I also feel like when Oliver visits his family, there's this sense of complacency which he has to constantly challenge. He's on the rowing team, a scholarship student, yet his parents want him to be like them, enjoying the smaller things. Also, the fact that he has siblings adds in the fact that he wants that attention to be drawn only to himself and not anyone else.

This is SUCH a great analysis. I am usually great at finding the deeper meaning in things but was completely lost here... the taboos were so shocking it was hard to hard to see past them! So this insight was super helpful. I love that there was such a juxtaposition of opposites too...he hated him so much he loved him, the estate was so full it was empty, Felix was so seemingly entitled but was actually so humble and trusting, Oliver was from a loving home but was so scheming and plotting, and in the end he finally has it all, but actually has nothing...

Because we know that from the movie that Oliver is insanely good at telling lies, until he’s caught by Felix, I like how it leaves you wondering what was the truth and what was a lie. My friends brought up a good point of Oliver only lied for his benefit. So does that mean he could have even lied about the summer reading and bs the essay. Farleigh even called him out on using “thus” 7 times and how that’s not in every day vernacular. It leaves me questioning everything out of Oliver’s mouth and I love that.

This is a good analysis. I was thinking that Oliver killed Felix because he wanted to be Felix and basically like swallow him whole. He definitely wanted Felix to "transform" or "flow" through him (kind of like the act of sex where you become one) and I think that's best represented when Oliver gains more confidence throughout the film. I also think the sexual scenes depict how Oliver would never have Felix the way he wanted him so he sought out ways to have that "high".

I just watched this tonight, left me speechless and I LOVE THE COLOURS being used as foreshadowing

Barry's nude dance scene at the end of the movie was a thing of beauty. Watching a young man, in the nude, move like that was simply lovely. I found nothing offensive at all.

great analysis!! I feel like Fairleigh is such an interesting character that I haven’t seen anyone talk about. and tbh I don’t really know what to make of him, because he’s essentially oliver, yet he’s gained access to saltburn and that lifestyle in a very different way (although importantly that access can never be complete or without strings). idk, I’m very curious to see what other people have to say about him

Saw the film on Thursday and I gotta say this is a fantastic analysis - the bit about Oliver almost becoming Felix is amazing.

such an in depth analysis and well described mentioned things really well wow i love how you’ve incorporated scenes and the part about Oliver actually hating them and then becoming his own “Felix” chills such a good movie

Saltburn analysis - Oliver has this insatiable desire to have power and he sees Felix and his family as people who have this. I believe this is why he utilises sex because it creates a bond and it is a way of creating vulnerability in others especially with the acts Oliver is prepared to do. By doing this he believes he has power and control over these people that he views as being the most powerful. This occurs with Vanecia, when he tells her she is going to start eating and not be sick. He wants to prove that he can have that power over her and then proceeds to create extreme vulnerability in her by being intimate while she is on her period. I believe the following scene of him with a bloody mouth is symbolic of a wolf. Of which, Oliver very much is a wolf in sheep's clothing. We then see him pushing food on her the following day. Of which, she oblige and eats. Next we see Oliver viewing Felix in his most intimate and vulnerable state, he again is gaining a sense of control over him. Then by drinking his bath water it's invasive and creates that sense of power in Oliver over Felix. I think that he believes by doing this he will be able to take on who Felix is. I guess most shockingly but what hammers the theme of desire, control and power home is the scene in the dirt. He has full power over Felix at this point but I also believe there is conflict over whether Oliver wants to be Felix or be with him. I think that conflict really comes out in this scene and I believe his emotions are genuine.

This analysis is incredible! Gave me so much new insight into things that I was so confused about at first. Thank you man!

I like this analysis, but Oliver very specifically states that he did love Felix, even though he hated him as well. It's that sort of duality that causes him to do the things he does, the grave scene is there because he still loves Felix, and that's as far as he will ever get with his feelings after having killed him. I think it's honestly the best scene to represent his conflicting feelings, where he's simultaneously desecrating and making love to his grave.

This movie is about almost all of the deadly sins. Insatiable, this movie is incredible, shocking, beautiful, haunting….Just WOW!!!!! ❤

Barry Keoghan was the creepiest character in the very creepy Green Knight.

I interpreted Saltburn in a different way. The first explanation I could give to the meaning and purpose of the movie was more psychological. I think Saltburn's purpose is to show how much disturbed people aren't capable of dealing with life and sometimes commit indecent actions to cope with the trauma they have buried inside. For Felix's family, the cause of the trauma is their social status itself: wealth only brings people to not be grateful and accomplished with what they have, they become greedy and needy for more; that of course translates into manipulative behaviors, which invade every sphere of the human being, even the sexual spectrum. Saltburn's castle is the embodiment of the wealthy class and their twisted and obscure world, which caused Venetia's immense trauma and Oliver's fetishization of richness. For a person who's mentally disturbed, coping with trauma will always translate into committing the worst imaginable actions, which may appear immoral or illogical, but are the only possible response to such a tormented existence. The critique to the sickness of the rich world is a permanence throughout the whole film. The final scene is one of the best finales I have ever watched.

Woah, this was a great analysis and added a lot of depth to my interpretation of the movie. Very very well said at the end, he got what he dreamed of but found himself even more alone and isolated than he was before.