Saltburn
Everyone remembersSaltburnfor its shocking moments later in the write up , but Ewan Mitchell ’s character is lowkey the majuscule thing about the motion-picture show . When Emerald Fennell ’s 2d directorial lineament film was released in 2023 , I flocked to the movie house . I ’m a huge fan ofPromising Young Woman , Fennell ’s Oscar - winning 2020 directorial launching , and I was frantic for more skewering of a club that rewards people for being atrocious . Boy , did Saltburn not disappoint . Saltburn ’s affluent and dreamy Catton familyare peak " eat the racy " character , but like Oliver Quick ( Barry Keoghan ) , I was impale by them .
However , even more than the Cattons and the debaucherous , twisted scenes occurring at Saltburn , I found myself more taken with the first half of the celluloid , which was set altogether at the University of Oxford . Saltburnreleased in November , and fall is peak dark academia season . I ’m a chump for this aesthetic , and I got swept up in the scenes taking place in the warmly unhorse dining halls , wood - paneled prof ' office , and cosy English pubs . The Oxford scenes have been largely left out of theSaltburndialogue , but a dark theory about Ewan Mitchell ’s reference may change that .
Ewan Mitchell Played Michael Gavey In Saltburn
Michael Is A Fellow Outsider Whom Oliver Ditches At Oxford
When Oliver Quick first get in at Oxford , he ’s immediately impale with the charismatic , handsome and rich Felix Catton ( Jacob Elordi ) . However , Oliver is awkward and shy , and finds he ca n’t get anywhere near Felix or really make any Quaker at all . The only schoolfellow who befriends him is the even more inapt Michael Gavey ( Ewan Mitchell ) .
Since Saltburn ’s compelling drama is primarily driven by its well - write character pulse , one can not assist but enquire who plays whom in the movie .
The two undergrads meet in the dining mansion house , andMichael points out that he and Oliver are the only two outsiders . Rather than popularity , Michael seeks proof for his intelligence , which he bear witness when he loud and obnoxiously demands Oliver require him a totality , chagrin theSaltburnprotagonist in front of his peers .
Of naturally , at the first opportunity to get in Felix ’s dear graces , Oliver unfeelingly ditches Michael . The scene of Oliver abandoning Michael at the public house to sit with Felix and his more socially desirable cohorts gutted me . Almost all of us have been kick to the curb by friends in our youth when someone shinier come along . Oliver and Michael ’s last interaction sees Michael call Oliver a " bootlicker " before disappearing from the movienever to return . But this moment has more significance than you think .
The “Michael Was Felix’s Toy” Saltburn Theory Explained
The Movie References Felix Taking Oliver Types Under His Wing
At Saltburn , there are frequent references to Felix ’s former champion who have stayed at the nominal country household . When Oliver is discourse with Venetia , she refer to these friends as Felix ’s " toys " , saying that he never wants to share them , even the toy he does n’t require to play with any longer , implying that he ’ll ditch Oliver . TheSaltburntheoryabout Ewan Mitchell ’s character is thatMichael is actually one of Felix ’s cast away " toy " .
This makes all the sense in the world . Throughout the Oxford scenes , Michael seems to have a cryptical - rout sense of resentment toward Felix . This could be due to Michael being dismiss by Felix and his democratic admirer group , but unlike Oliver , this does n’t seem to annoy the outsider . So why the resentment ? Oliver and Michael ’s final conversation is also telling . Rather than confront Oliver for leaving him in the dust , Michael simply aver " He ’ll get bored of you , " manifestly referring to Felix . Michael says this with such a humankind - weary tone , almost as if he knows from first - hand experience .
Oliver Was Only A Toy To Felix All Along
If He Hadn’t Been Such A Schemer, Oliver Would Have Been Ditched Just Like Michael
When I talk aboutSaltburnwith other fan , the first thing I bring up is n’t the bathwater or the graveyard scenes that everyone is ghost with . I want to talk about Felix . Upon first seeing the flick , I father into a het debate about whether Felix was a good hombre or not . My admirer expressed sympathy for the in the end poorly - fated Felix , sound out that while cocky , he seemed like a decent guy who truly cared for Oliver . I , on the other hired man , feltthe Jacob Elordi character ’s motivations for befriending Oliver were more forbidding . And the Michael Gavey hypothesis prove me right-hand .
As early as Oxford , Felix examine that he was ready to hack Oliver loose for proving too awkward and bothersome to be worth keeping around . It was only when Oliver lie about his father ’s passing and give birth nowhere to go for the summer that Felix took the inadequate orphan scholarship kid back under his wing . On the other hand , Michael does n’t possess a hint of Oliver ’s abilities to scheme and manipulate , so he had no way of get back into the big Catton ’s honorable graces once he grew bored of him .
Felix ’s " toy dog " discourse of people is also partly a learn behavior , as we see it with the Cattons and their roughshod treatment of " Poor Dear " Pamela ( Carey Mulligan ) . Pamela is a troubled booster and Saltburn guest whom the family pretend to adore but ca n’t hold off to wash their hands of . When it ’s after report that Pamela died , their response is so blatantly vicious , I was almost more aghast than when Oliver started strip in the memorial park . Indeed , the Cattons have a riding habit of collecting " pathetic dear " toys and cast away them , whether it ’s Pamela or Michael .
Michael Would Have Figured Out That Oliver Killed The Cattons
His Silence Upholds Saltburn’s “Eat The Rich” Ending
At theend ofSaltburn , Oliver has either instantly or indirectly polish off all the Cattons and is now the majestic and rightful owner of Saltburn , with Elspeth ( Rosamund Pike ) having bequeathed it to him . This is a definitely a polarizing ending , with some criticizing it for being a searing bill of indictment of the striving , scheming middle class . But I could n’t disagree with this rendition more . For me , Saltburn ’s finish makes it the very right of the many " eat the rich " moviesthat have add up out in the past few twelvemonth .
These movies , include Hustlers , Parasite , and Knives Out , are a great embodiment of the " eat the fat " movement .
take care , do I check with murder ? No . But the Cattons are such selfish people that the only reason they ’re not a family of killers is because they ’ve never had to be — they ’ve had everything handed to them by generations of dead rellys . They ’ve take on with Pamela , Michael , Oliver , and who knows how many others for mere summercater , and yes , darn it , I was thrill when Oliver outfox them at their own plot . But what do his victory even sweet is the Michael theory .
If Michael were to have heard about the tragic fate of Felix and his family , he likely would have expose that Oliver got Saltburn and put two and two together . But the ending implies that Oliver got away with everything Scotchman - free . This means thatMichael would have chosen to keep quiet . Whatever resentment he may have had for Oliver pales in comparison to his vitriol for Felix , and he may even be proud of his former Oxford sidekick for consume the last joke against the Cattons . And really , when you think about it , that ’s what crap Michael the true Cuban sandwich ofSaltburn .
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