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manicpixiefelix · 2 months

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This is going to sound so pretentious to say, but I think that one of the most incredible things Emerald Fennell did with Saltburn was give it's audience both everything and nothing all at once. But which I mean that every moment we see on screen is so carefully chosen and wonderfully detailed. Every second of the story that Oliver chooses to tell us is perfectly crafted to give us the exact story he wants to create, nothing more and nothing less. Saltburn's narrative lives and dies in Oliver's obsessive recollection, his confessional. Its why these characters who are so clearly and wonderfully rich below the surface can, at a glance, come off as shallow. Oliver didn't care!! And the one he did care about, he gatekept so jealously (I saw someone else's meta discussing this and I absolutely agree) to the point where we as an audience barely know who Felix was. We don't even know who Oliver was, at the end of the day; he was manipulative and ambitious and obsessive and - I could not tell you a single thing he genuinely liked that wasn't Felix. Because that's it, isn't it. That's the story of Saltburn. Everything revolved around Felix, and Felix was everything, and so Oliver's story only focuses on the absolute tragedy of having everything and then losing everything in that one Summer.

And nothing else.

Emerald gave us the gift of Oliver's everything, and the vague, nebulous nothing that he cares about just behind it. The hints of more, jumping off points of intrigue and imagination, things we can extrapolate from and speculate about. There is so much room in this world around it's implications and offhand remarks for us to all build upon. We don't even know if Venetia is Felix's older or younger sister???? There is limitless space to play in this world, both before the events of the film, but also between the few moments Oliver chooses to show us. We see twenty minutes of Oliver's Full First Year at Oxford before he goes to Saltburn, so much of how he falls for Felix and becomes his friend goes so unsaid and unseen, little more than a montage, and Barry and Jacobs's phenomenal chemistry selling their closeness, so we don't have to know each detail.

But that's the thing, that's just bliss; the falling in love is a given in this story, he opens with that. These moments would simply be nothing on the road to everything.

Its like Emerald Fennell is kissing me directly on the forehead and giving her blessing to fill in the blanks. She knew we would; she literally said she knew Saltburn would be a hit on Tumblr, she knew what she was doing. This film was made for those of us who like to over analyse media and also create vivid and intricate headcanons and sometimes both at the same time.

Tumblr, and creatives especially, love Saltburn because it deliberately lets us play in its world, in that sweet spot between everything and nothing, all at once.

#saltburn #saltburn 2023 #saltburn meta #felix catton #oliver quick #venetia catton #farleigh start #emerald fennell #elspeth catton #sir james catton #james catton #felix x oliver #felix catton x oliver quick #manicpixieart

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island-in-the-shadows · 1 month

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On Felix Catton & Disgust/Desire

I had been waiting for a long while now to write this post. I wanted to do another full re-watch before I got into it because the ideas for this have been sitting in my mind for a long time. This is going to be a long post and, hopefully, not super pretentious. Most of us fans of Saltburn know, to some degree or another, that the core themes of the film revolve around disgust, desire, and obsession. And the biggest entry point to discuss this is the actions of our protagonist, Oliver Quick re the object of his disgust/desire/obsession Felix Catton.

I've written before that I believe that Oliver did know Felix and that Felix was emotionally vulnerable and candid with Oliver. I further stated that we, the audience, are forbidden from knowing the details of this intimacy because Oliver does not want us to truly know Felix. This means that the bits we get of Felix are small and very subtle. It means that we can interpret Felix's core personality, true intent, true desires in a litany of ways. My opinion is, realistically, no more valid than anyone else's. But for today, I wanted to discuss what I view, from the bits that we get, is Felix's relation with the core themes of the film. And, because I saw a truly heinous takes about a different fandom I'm in and I don't want to think about it, my brain said: hey...let's talk about Felix Catton and his disgust and desire.

Pt. 1: "Only rich people can afford to be this filthy."

When Oliver says the above, he and Felix are in Felix's messy and disgusting dorm room at Oxford. When you take a closer look at the room (which I admit was difficult on my first few views because Felix is lit and positioned to take all of your focus), it is a total shit show. There's clothes everywhere, empty containers everywhere, other unidentifiable debris...honestly wouldn't shock me if there was some used condom somewhere. We know from Oliver that, not only does it look like chaos, it smells terrible. However, Felix is unbothered. He is concerned only with the heat which, in this case, is an external force that he cannot control no matter his good looks, his charms, his pedigree, or his money. By what we see, Felix is quite happy and content in the filth. It is only when Oliver points out the filth and points out that Felix won't take care of it, that Felix reacts negatively.

Felix, as we know, is very accustomed to his messes being cleaned up for him. Before we even get to Saltburn it's a safe assumption to make. Prior to college/uni, he would've gone to some posh boarding school or other. I doubt that they were made to clean everything in boarding school (though if any of you know please let me know). We also know that wealthy people tend to have hired staff who clean for them. This is a young man who has never had to clean up his spilled milk and it has never even occurred to him to do it.

However, the important bit to note is not that Felix is messy and that it doesn't occur to him to clean. What's important to note is that the mess simply does not bother him. Just because he is born to extreme wealth and privilege does not mean that he would have to be this way. There's been germaphobe rich people or people who prefer to have a minimalistic space or any number of things. Regardless of wealth, some people are fine with mess and some people require mess to be done away with immediately. Felix is in the former category. He certainly must notice the mess at some point (even if, clearly, he's nosebleed to it) but he is comfortable in his space.

This is also true of his room at Saltburn. We barely see it, I know, but let's take a look at that glossy af pic of it from the Architectural Digest Article...

There is crap EVERYWHERE. The more you look at it the more crap you find. You can't even say that it's perfectly clean either because there's dirty clothes in spots, there's multiple pillows on the ground, there's a random used water glass, there's either toilet paper or paper towels on the night stand, the bed isn't perfectly made, I could go on. Chaos and filth and mess is, technically, Felix's natural habitat. It's the kind of mess that is surrounded by opulence, certainly, but it's still a mess.

Only rich people can afford to be this messy because they can also dictate when and where their staff cleans. Presumably, there are things in Felix's bedroom (perhaps the toilet paper/paper towels which have a...purpose) which he has instructed Duncan to leave alone. Or Elspeth has put terms for how often the maids come in the rooms. It could be framed in a multitude of ways. The point stands that Felix can exist in these chaotic and, even, disgusting spaces because he chooses to be. What his privilege does, then, is afford him absence from judgment.

We see the staff at Saltburn clean up after the party. We see that they quietly replaced a broken mirror before anyone can question the cracks. We never see the staff judge. Do they? Certainly they must, we all have opinions. But do they express their judgement to the masters of the house? No. It's not their place to do so. They are considered staff and therefore their opinions do not come into play for the Cattons nor would they want to hear them. Even Duncan's genuine unease and grief after Felix dies is mostly kept under control. He's not paid to express his emotions or his thoughts, after all.

And why go into all of this? Because Felix is content to live in the mess, to revel in the gross and in some version of the abject. What Felix cannot handle is being confronted with his pleasure. To me, this (along with wanting to separate Oliver from staff when the younger boy starts actively cleaning) is the main reason why he snaps when Oliver points out the disgusting state of the dorm. He does not need or want to know how he fits outside a specific role that he was born to play and, likely, believes he has to play. Even if it didn't occur to him to clean, he could've used his wealth and influence to find someone to clean for him. But he didn't. Because it doesn't bother him. Oliver being bothered and pointing out that Felix is so wealthy that he can live in the filth is what bothers him, instead.

Pt. 2 "Was it? Was it awful?"

I am going to keep this section short, because there have been much better posts about this and I, personally, go back and forth on this all the time. Regardless, Felix having an interest in a made up fantasy of a shitty childhood and what he can, likely, envision as some Dickensian nightmare of a situation falls into his relation to disgust and desire. What Felix knows of true poverty and addiction likely comes from media or exaggerated stories from people who have been in contact with someone who was an addict or something to that extent. His imagination must be running wild with theories. And while I do think that he did have good intentions regarding Oliver when it comes to this, his demeanour also shows an attraction to the grotty aspects of it. Oliver only ever calls him out on this, to a degree, in the maze. Before this, Felix can be interested in what he imagines is the horror of Oliver's childhood but not be caught out as being a tragedy whore or someone with a saviour complex or anything else, because his interest is not being pointed out. Again, he has an interest or desire for mess and chaos as long as it is not pointed out.

Pt. 3 "You're supposed to be here with me."

Let's, briefly, talk about queerness. Let's talk about how Felix has an image to maintain. How he has expectations put upon him. Yes, he has privilege and wealth beyond understanding, but these things often have a tradeoff. Celebrities, for example, have to forfeit a lot of their privacy. Royalty and nobility (regardless of country) often forfeit chunks of their privacy and the possibility of living outside of a script (publicly, at any rate). Felix CANNOT go off script.

He is implied to be the heir to Saltburn and everything that comes with it: money, land, title, expectations. Like in the days of old, it's probably expected of him to produce an heir. It's also expected of him to marry a lady from his class in order to produce said heir. And, back in 2006/7, people were less acceptating of LGBTQ+ people that they are now, and Same-Sex marriage was not a thing in the UK and it wouldn't be for another 7 or so years. So Farleigh, who will inherit nothing and only ever be given scraps, can embrace his queerness; Felix cannot.

Personally, I believe that Felix did have some sort of interest in Oliver. It's not just in the fact that he is possessive of Oliver to the point of disregarding his family. It's in all the Bambi eyed looks that we see Felix give Oliver. You could argue that these are exaggerations from Oliver but then, how do you explain the POV shots we get of Felix looking at Oliver? How they are also romance coded, lustful, pinky and fluffy? There is something there. To what extent there was something is pure conjecture. But, I personally believe that he had some kind of feelings for Oliver but could not express those feelings and, to an extent, found his feelings for Oliver disgusting.

Even if his mother is, in her way, tolerant of queer people, this does not mean that she would be ok with Felix being with a man. I doubt his father, who is in his 60s at the time, would be any happier about it. Again, Felix needs to have an heir and take over Saltburn. So, at most, they would've tolerated that Felix had a "friend" tucked away somewhere that Felix could go to every so often. Queerness is not the desired outcome and so, at some point, Felix would've had to separate any feelings from the matter. And, hypothetically, in boarding school any hand jobs etc. from other boys would be viewed as part of a norm that exists within the realm of "no homo."

So, given he has been emotionally intimate with Oliver and, given that he has felt more for Oliver than he probably thinks he should, he feels disgust as much as he feels desire. He can, and personally I think does, want Oliver, but feels disgusted by his feelings and has a strong desire to keep them channeled in the "appropriate" way. Just the same, he gets jealous and he does not want to share. He cannot abide by Oliver being free to pursue another partner (guarantee he would be equally as incensed if he had found out about Farleigh and it probably would've slightly registered had Oliver actually slept with Indabel). It's specifically a slap in the face that it's Venetia who has done this kind of thing before and who is allowed to be physical with these friends of Felix's with whom Felix does not feel he could or should be physically intimate. Thus, the possession and the jealousy and the spurned wife behaviour of it all.

Pt. 4 "You make my fucking blood run cold."

Bref, I think Felix had good intentions but poor thinking skills when he wanted to take Oliver to his parents' house. Multiple posts have discussed this bit and I do think he wanted to further trauma bond with Oliver the way they further trauma bonded when Oliver's dad "died", afterwards, per the script, they were "closer than ever." And then they had that intimate moment on the bridge and spent some time there completely alone instead of being at a giant party. I think he thought that the experience would bring them closer and that he would be there to, in his way, protect Oliver. And I still think this plays in to all the little ways in which Felix desires disgust and is disgusted by his desires. But he does it anyway.

The betrayal of trust and intimacy that follows has to feel like a bomb has gone off in Felix's mind. But what's worse for him, again this is solely my opinion, is that he still desires Oliver regardless. It might not have fully formed in his head and he then dulled it with drugs and alcohol and with his shoddy attempt at fucking Indabel in the maze, but possibly the inkling of why Oliver lied the way he did had entered his brain. Oliver already tried to explain. Told Felix in the hallway when they got back that he wanted to be Felix's friend. And Felix likely relived his entire relationship with Oliver including what Oliver just told him. And, to me, Felix was not entirely opposed to it. He didn't immediately kick out Oliver or cause too much of a fuss. He wanted space. He wanted to not think about it for a while. But Oliver forced his hand.

Again, here we have a Felix who is disgusted by his desire. A Felix who, deep down, knows that he likes that Oliver lied. That he likes that Oliver desires him so much that he would do anything for him. Likes that, despite NEVER wanting anyone to know the most debauched parts of him, Oliver is close to knowing all of his darkest parts and loving him for them just the same. But a Felix who, nonetheless, does not allow himself to revel in the filth once it's pointed out.

And Oliver points it out. In a big way. "Everyone puts on a show for Felix! [...] doesn't this just prove how much of a good friend I actually am? How well I actually know you!" He does know him. Felix knows this. Felix CANNOT go off script. Felix cannot acknowledge his love for things that are disgusting or less than savoury. So too he cannot allow them or acknowledge them here. And then we have something in the script vs. how Jacob actually looked that's what inspired me to write this overly long post in the first fucking place.

This is not the exact beat. Because this is after Felix says his line about his blood running cold. The vibe is the same, though. Regardless...is THAT the fact of disgust? Because to me, that is not disgust. That is some form of desire that most mortals will never experience. But then...it also IS disgust. Because the two are intertwined for him. Because he desires because of the disgust at the situation and at the lengths of debasement Oliver will go to to please him. He is a boy who loves mess and chaos and who makes his home there. And, to whatever extent, his heart could've made a home in the mess and chaos and filth that Oliver brought to the table. Even if Felix has to be disgusted at his desires and prevent them. Even if Oliver took any option or opportunity away from Felix.

Oliver makes his blood run cold, but Felix never said that was a bad thing. And it isn't. Just as Oliver revels in the filth of bodies and their fluids and the inferred possession that comes with them, so too Felix revels in the filth of places and things he shouldn't want and things he can only truly savour in the shadows where no one points them out.

TL;DR Felix is as much of a freak as Oliver is, though in a different way. He is shown to be comfortable and even like messy and gross things but, he only does so when it's not pointed out. He can be, to a point, physically close and emotionally intimate with Oliver and, even partially overlook a betrayal of this intimacy, but only if it's never pointed out. Only if it doesn't break with the expectations and social script on which he has been raised and to which he has to stick. He serves to demonstrate the relationship with disgust and desire as much as Oliver does, but his relation is more subtle and harder to see. And maybe, just maybe, given time, he would've at least bent the script.

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Super sorry for how long this is, I just needed to get it out! Thanks to @ollieapologist for being my biggest cheerleader about this post. Sorry if this is incoherent!

#saltburn #felix catton #cattonquick #super long post #just my two cents #literally I know this can be interpreted in so many ways but it's been rattling around my brain for a WHILE now #now can we get some uni prof to come grade me? lol. I think I did ok #saltburn meta

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spacecasehobbit · 15 days

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Every time I watch Saltburn, I swear I cannot tell that the eggs Oliver is served during that first breakfast are even cooked. Other people have said the eggs are sunny-side-up, though, so I'll assume that's correct.

It still means that Oliver was served the wrong eggs. He asked for over easy, which the eggs he got were definitely not. The whites were still clear on top, which is both a different taste and a different texture than over easy eggs.

It also means that the Cattons' personal cook(s) not only made Oliver the wrong eggs, but that Duncan then brought those eggs out to Oliver with no comment.

The Cattons are absolutely rich enough to hire cooks who know the difference between sunny-side-up eggs and over easy eggs, though. Even if the cook messed it up, Duncan as the family's Butler should have caught it before the plate reached the table.

I've seen people interpret this scene as Oliver making an early power play with the staff, seeing if he can get away with ordering eggs and then sending it back, but that only works if he was given the right eggs in the first place.

He wasn't.

The staff gave Oliver the wrong food.

Oliver wasn't making a power play with the Saltburn staff.

The eggs scene is the staff testing Oliver, to see if he'll roll over and not make trouble, in order to keep his wealthy hosts happy.

It's the staff treating Oliver like his (supposed) poverty makes him a gold digger who is reaching above his station and needs to be knocked down a peg, all for having the sheer audacity to try and eat breakfast with his friend, at his friend's house that he was invited to, when he wasn't told what to expect in advance and while being treated like a zoo animal by his friend's family without a single peep from his supposed friend while all this happens.

Oliver just wanted to eat some fuckin' breakfast with his friend, though.

#saltburn #saltburn meta #saltburn eggs scene #oliver quick

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olliecoded · 4 months

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shockingly i wrote this BEFORE watching saltburn. however it's so ollie coded that i think u should all see it anyway ❤️

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gayiconwaluigi · 4 months

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The thing that caught me after watching Saltburn a second time is when we see Oliver’s father. It all falls into place. Oliver has his father’s eyes, his father’s glasses, his father’s clothes. He sees his future staring back at him when he sees his dad, and it’s rubbed in his face when Farleigh tells him this is all a dream he’ll tell to his fat children someday. Oliver can see how his entire life will go and he can’t take it. Reminds me a little bit of the short story Paul’s Case by Willa Cather.

#Saltburn #emerald fennell #Oliver quick #Barry Keoghan #films #saltburn spoilers #saltburn meta #saltburn analysis #Willa Cather

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aquickstart · 4 months

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pls may i have some saltburn takes. i saw u liked my post abt oliver never having read the reading list and it made me giggle.

OH YES DUDE oh i Loved that post because it brings up actually something that for some reason i haven't seen discussed much. oliver's unreliable narration.

i have a brilliant, i think, genius four-question plan for making people understand saltburn, and it has worked before and i will maybe elaborate on it, but not right now. right now i'll talk about one of the questions.

who is oliver telling this story to, and why?

we've established that he's an unreliable narrator at least because it's the logical conclusion for a movie shot in a way that opens and closes with his narrative. but what does oliver being untruthful actually mean for what we know about anything and everything that happened. have you ever obsessed over this particular question. well. i have.

my hot take, first of all, is that oliver is not that smart. he's clever, but the point of the movie is that he's caught up in and driven by desire; desire, pointedly, in the moment, merging desire, adapting to circumstance and leading him on. his want is not concrete from the beginning. his want is insatiable hunger that grows.

so, okay, from the top. the whole meet-cute with felix? because of a punctured tire? eh. idk if that's true. the money thing at the bar, pretending to not have any while he actually did? eh, perhaps. chronologically he then lies to felix about his dad, and this is big, this is deliberate, this is what ties felix to him for good.

what if the first two instances were coincidences? like, felix genuinely in trouble then, oliver genuinely out of cash. makes sense to become attached and actually do something, something impulsive, drastic, when felix seems to be drifting away, and lie about his dad.

interjection: you might be saying, nadia, he lied about his family from the get-go. well of course. i didn't say he's not smart enough to clock what image of a damsel in distress felix would gobble up. i'm saying he didn't do it for the long game, because there was no long game to speak of, as narrator-oliver would have you believe. i think he wanted felix so badly in that moment of several months in oxford, i think he was so blinded that he would've said anything. and he did.

now, i've briefly talked about oliver's feelings about the invitation to saltburn, and i think this is very important here. in the moment, he couldn't possibly know what exactly this invitation could mean, in the long run, only that it is definitely the next step in progression of desire for felix. present-day oliver interjection, and i believed him, after felix said he could leave anytime, i read as a slip up, an admission that oliver didn't plan shit, or at least from the beginning he didn't. it lured him in as soon as he got there, gothic house driving mad-style. he held on to a dream of something elusive (felix as a friend? lover? forever-partner in whatever capacity? i want him so bad i don't care what he is as long as he's there? please? please?).

the other obvious hole to poke at is in the end. venetia very conveniently takes the razors he places for her, and while sure, it could be read as him just hinting at how he conveniently read her fragile state and took advantage of it, i don't buy it. (i'm honestly even tempted to suggest he met elspeth on accident, to then spin a pretty story for his own sake, but him keeping tabs on the surviving cattons all those years tracks with what we know about obsessive oliver; he's definitely known about her flat for a while.)

but those are all minor stuff. i get completely if you think i'm reading too much into it and this is all just a headcanon after all, to be fair. BUT. but.

my second big take is that oliver was/is madly in love with felix. i know, shocking. but you have probably seen people say he wasn't. i will elaborate.

i wasn't in love with him. i loved him. i hated him. what does this sound like. have you ever had a friend come to you after a breakup fuming and telling you how they'll never end up with this asshole for sure and then get back together with him and then break up and say the same thing again.

i loved him, but i wasn't in love with him. i know everyone thought i was, but i wasn't. have you never told anyone something of the sort, specifically the last part, to emphasize just how it's everyone around you that's kinda hung up on whatever it is, and you've moved way past it, actually. have you never told yourself that.

i have. i know many other people who have, too. so, who is oliver telling this story to, and why? there's no one but dead elspeth in front of him. there's no one but himself. fun fact: each time you recall an event, it distorts under the influence of the mix of past and present emotions. each time you recall, you mold memory (source, e.g., x). the way i personally see it, oliver, for whatever reason, retells the story in order to solidify his own memory of it in the way that he wants to remember it. whatever he says, this is his final word, and this is his final truth.

this is also why details slip through, like my beloved i believed him, like the emotional i hated him growing into self-convincing, misleadingly dismissive, definitely unsure i hated him by the end. those are the true emotions that he recalls, those are the times that are hard to rewrite, for whatever reason.

of course, he hated them all. but before that, he loved felix to the point of blindly following where felix's desire led oliver, at least the way oliver perceived felix's desire. it failed, crucially, when felix's desire brought them to the center of the labyrinth, where oliver could not be the desired anymore.

my third hot take in connection to this is that oliver did not know he would kill felix until the very night he did it. he didn't know it, i think, until the last hour, until felix refused to reconcile completely, until he made his blood run cold. i also briefly mention it here, specifically how farleigh is tragically connected to felix's death, in my opinion. this tracks with, again, my strong belief that oliver lies, lies and lies throughout this whole story about wanting to take everything from felix from the beginning; no, he fucking didn't. he wanted felix. he wanted felix to be his. that was number one priority. he wanted felix and whatever else came with it, undoubtedly, but not the other way around.

paradoxically, he also wanted to be felix; he wanted to be him and be with him just as us tumblr people can often relate and the tragedy is that you always have to choose. felix pushed him away, so there was no other choice but to take what was left of felix that oliver could take. hence the clothes wearing, the table scene talk, the refusal to leave.

felix chose not to choose oliver, so oliver became felix. it's his fault. felix promised oliver could leave. felix left instead. what was oliver to do.

but to your point about the books, i think it could be either way, actually. i think he could have lied about it because technically that's also in character for him, he was performing for an audience of his tutor. but i also think that he was, genuinely, a nerd before he came to oxford, and he didn't, and still doesn't, have any friends, and he hates his sisters and his mother and is miserable. he's the perfect profile of someone who'd read king james' bible over the summer, and then some, imma be honest.

so, yes. i think oliver lies about most things in saltburn and i think he's pathetic, lost, confused, grieving, angry, horny, down bad and in denial. and i fucking love him. i so fuckin do.

#saltburn #oliver quick #saltburn meta #thank u so much for ur ask. this was my excuse to finally vomit this up.#honestly i think asks are the only format in which i will actually write out all of my thoughts coherently esp the longer stuff #bc i feel obligated to answer #and when i dont i just abandon stuff. i know all my saltburn meta. vika does. finn knows ALL of it and more. i dont feel like sharing much #when unprompted. but if you ask me?? i'll never shut up. literally never #anyway. this is it. thank u again. fun.#ask #horrorsequel #saltburn journaling

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saudades-whore · 3 months

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I-I just-

#this was all i could think when i saw this scene #oliver u unreliable narrator #jacob elordi u girlypop princess #saltburn #saltburn meta #oliver quick #felix catton

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trendfilmsetter · 4 months

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Jacob Elordi has a candle scent titled “Jacob Elordi’s Bathwater” for the SALTBURN movie

#jacob elordi #saltburn #saltburn movie #saltburn meta #movies #barry keoghan

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massiveharmonytiger · 2 months

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So I was rewatching Saltburn and I had an epiphany!

Farleigh is in love with Oliver.

Like, embarrassingly, stupidly, head over heels.

I mean, I knew he had a thing for Ollie, with the jealously telling Felix about him and Venetia, the Richard III would put in the work line followed by him being completely disarmed when Oliver suggests that he fucks him, and then the actual Oliver seducing him scene, but I only just realized the extent of it and how far back it goes.

First of all, Farleigh notices Oliver before Oliver sees Felix for the first time.

Yes, I got the script because I'm complete Saltburn trash at this point. So when Farleigh is introduced, the script describes him as beautiful and pansexual, walking among a group of alpha hotties. So in the film, he's with two hotties, a guy and a girl. He has his pick. There's no reason for him to point out Oliver or what he's wearing to them, unless he's trying to impress them, but why would Farleigh Start need to impress them? He's already the centre of that group. Sure the script also describes him as an imp with a cruel streak, but after rewatching I feel like that's a blatant misdirection. I mean, he got expelled for sucking off teachers. Nerdy prep is exactly his type.

He says, "Hey cool jacket," to Oliver. If you interpret that line as being delivered by the beautiful and pansexual Farleigh Start, not the impish and cruel Farleigh Start, it's pretty much a come on. I'm mixed race like Farleigh and it kind of reminds me of those back-handed compliments white people give you when they think you're hot or cute 'for a brown person.' It's kind of hilarious to see it subverted like this, but obviously Oliver is less amused. Why would he interpret it as anything other than more bullying? Which it kind of is, so fair enough. But it's the kind of bullying people do when they get a crush they don't know how to handle. A little boy pulling on a girls pigtails. And it's obviously worked for Farleigh before. Why would he need to try any harder than that?

After Farleigh's comment, Oliver sees Felix for the first time. Farleigh is also there, but Oliver's already smitten and doesn't really notice him beyond, "Oh, it's that jerk from earlier and he's next to Felix, where I should be." Then you get a few other bits that wreck me. Oliver ducking from the window when Felix looks up, Oliver trying to sit at Felix (and Farleigh)'s table at the mess hall, but being unable to, Michael causing the disruption, but it doesn't even interrupt Felix and Farleigh's conversation. (Which ties in nicely to my theory of how the original Oliver wouldn't have gotten Felix's attention even if he screamed, he had to mold himself into what Felix wanted just to get noticed, but one theory at a time).

Next up, we have the tutor session that Farleigh is late for. Before Farleigh gets there, Oliver is humiliated and belittled for completing the reading list, which dooms Farleigh even more when he shows up and the tutor starts fawning over him. Oliver doesn't know Farleigh and Felix are cousins yet. He's just the guy that was snide to Oliver when he first got there. The guy at Felix's side that Oliver keeps measuring himself against. So yeah, Oliver is pissed off before Farleigh gets there and that cute little knee touch isn't going to change anything.

Yes, Farleigh, I also count the amount of times my crush uses a word in their essay despite still being hungover from last night's party, just so that I have something to talk to him about… Oh wait, no, that's just you.

The way he looks up at Oliver with those big brown doe eyes when he says, "I counted". The way he keeps looking up to gauge his reaction to all his comments. The way he's looking at him, period.

And Oliver doesn't fall for his cuteness and charm because he's just convinced that the intent behind his words is malicious. Poor Farleigh. He must have been so confused. People usually fold but here's this guy, meeting him blow for blow. He's never had to "put in the work" like this. What the hell.

The tutor sessions with Oliver and Farleigh (where Farleigh is framed lower than Oliver) actually serve as a nice parallel to a lot of the scenes where Oliver and Felix are together (and Oliver is framed lower than Felix). We don't really see that when Farleigh and Felix are together. They're usually at a similar height in those scenes.

Then we have the scene in the bar where Felix calls Oliver over and Farleigh has that panicked, "Oh shit, my crush is here," look on his face before it settles into resignation as he realizes Oliver is, "another one of Felix's toys". Finally the mystery is solved. This is why Oliver didn't fall for his charms at the tutor sessions.

So, Oliver prefers Felix to him, huh. That's just fine. He'll deal with the rejection by giving Oliver a hard time about buying the next round. That should push him away from Felix…oh shit, it brings them closer together. And now he looks like the douchebag.

Then there's this bit where Farleigh is looking at Oliver and Felix (mostly Oliver, the prior shot establishes which side of the room he's on, which happens to be where Farleigh's looking) and his party hat horns mirror the minotaur/how Oliver looked when he confessed his love to Felix later on. Oliver, you need to see how much Farleigh fucking loves you. Look at him, Ollie. Just look at him. (He can't, he's too busy looking at Felix)

Anything to get Oliver to notice him. Anything.

Cut to Oliver's arrival at Saltburn, where Oliver joins the rest of them in the library and Farleigh loudly cuts off Elspeth gossiping about Oliver and his parents because hearing, "We were just talking about you" would be better than hearing whatever was going to come out of Elspeth's mouth next. And I mean, he's already the asshole. This is actually so sweet.

And we all remember this scene. This clearly made his day.

But then we get the encounter with Venetia and Felix and Farleigh both being equally pissed at the breakfast table. And yeah, everything goes downhill from there. It's the reason Oliver seduces him and gets him thrown out for what's literally just another desperate attempt to drive a wedge between Oliver and Felix.

No, Oliver, he's not going to behave. God, yes. Don't stop.

Farleigh was down so bad he literally got honeytrapped and framed. Twice.

Between Felix, Oliver and Farleigh, there are really no winners. They really all got wrecked by love, huh.

#saltburn #saltburn meta #saltburn posting #quickstart #farleigh start #oliver quick #cattonquick #felix catton

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queerxqueen · 3 months

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No but I feel like the theory that Felix liked Oliver back is definitely plausible, isn't it? The cheek kiss, hand on thigh, giving him his clothes, not liking when Oliver hooked up with the sister, them often standing close together, even the jerk off session with the open door can all be interpreted that way, right? Or are these moment supposed to be loaded but ultimately mean nothing? What is your theory?

Ahhhh thank you for the ask! Yes, definitely!!! It's less of a theory so much as a particular reading of the film that folks can either agree with or disagree with.

Did Felix love Oliver?

On one hand - we see Felix being so affectionate in their very first meeting, and I do think that was intentional as a way to show that Felix is just like that. Unguarded and affectionate and warm. When his attention is on you, you feel like the most important person in the world. It's just that he eventually grows tired and throws you away and moves on. (See: Eddie. Annabel. "Last year's one.") You're not actually special, you're just the latest of his play things.

So I do think that reading of things is valid.

But god, to me, the idea that Felix at least at some point loved Oliver back makes the tragedy of it all so much richer and tragically beautiful.

It's the things you said - the casual affection. The blatant flirting. The lingering glances over dinner and the intimacy of all their silent communications. The door left open to their shared bathroom while he touches himself. The jealousy and possessiveness. The genuine betrayal and hurt under it all when he discovers Oliver's lies. Nearly kissing Oliver in the maze, despite everything. The protectiveness and savior's complex as a reflection of a sort of misguided white knight romantic hero ideal Felix wants to fulfill. The Juliet-esque angel costume, his illusion that his story is a romance.

But Oliver is so focused on making himself indispensable, so worried about being another one of Felix's old forgotten toys, that he doesn't see that Felix feels something for him too. And then everything goes wrong, when Felix finds out his lies, and Oliver thinks it's too late.

And that's the tragedy, really - that it might not have actually been too late. That if he'd given Felix space and time, he might not have lost Felix from his life completely. As Oliver said, "I mean, we’re going to laugh about this."

Because Felix does care about Oliver. Even after the lie. In the maze scene, he's still looking after Oliver, still caring about him. ("I think you need to see someone. You need help." / "Better?" / "I think you should go to bed.") That kind of gentle is so different from the posturing Felix did toward Oliver earlier in the party ("I tried to be nice but can you fuck off and bother somebody else?") and it shows that, even if Felix is throwing a fit and stewing in his emotions as he does, he still cares about Oliver and wants him to be okay. He wasn't throwing Oliver away just yet. Oliver just thinks he is.

Because Oliver has been waiting for and fearing this moment from the very beginning of their relationship, has seen so many examples of Those Left Behind By The Cattons. He thinks this is it, and he panics. He's impulsive and emotional, despite wanting too seem calculated. He reacts out of hurt and fear, and in doing so, ruins the only chance of getting what he truly wants. He self destructs, and hurts Felix before Felix has the chance to hurt him any more.

And isn't that self-destruction so much more tragic when it isn't inevitable, it isn't justified, but just an emotional reaction? When there was still a chance for a happy ending, but Oliver couldn't see it?

So all this to say (and wow this got long, sorry)... Felix loving Oliver is definitely up for debate depending on how you read Felix's character, but I do think the possibility of him loving Oliver makes the tragic ending that much more gorgeous and real.

#saltburn #cattonquick #felix catton #oliver quick #saltburn analysis #saltburn meta #my analysis #answered #anon

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manicpixiefelix · 2 months

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devouring every piece of Saltburn fan content especially fanfiction because I desperately want to know the version of Ollie and Felix that lives in all of your heads. i want to see the lives and thoughts you've given them based on the film we all watched. i am so in love with how differently but thoughtfully each and every one of us has interpreted these characters and how we think they grew up based on the moments of them now we get to see. let me see what their interests are, have been, or continue to be outside of the constraints of the immediate narrative, PLEASE.

my version of Ollie will never admit that hearing Jump In Line (Shake Senora) makes him nostalgic for watching Beetlejuice with his mother as a teenager because his sisters thought the movie was gross, so his mother was the only one willing to indulge him since had a crush on Alec Baldwin and Ollie had a crush on Winona Ryder.

I need to know the little moments that you've decided are part of your personal understanding of the Saltburn characters, I find it so damn lovely and intriguing!!

#felix catton #Oliver Quick #venetia Catton #farleigh start #saltburn #saltburn 2023 #emerald fennell #elspeth catton #sir james catton #saltburn meta #manicpixieart

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peepingcreek · 4 months

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Conquerers never send their artillery in first.

Colonialism & The Saltburn Estate

The thing we forget about Colonization, is the first meeting. The Conquerers never send their artillery in first. They always send their brightest anthropologists, with kind mannerisms and willing hearts.

The interactions however genuine, are sullied by who the anthropologist will report back to: the capitalist. The hidden ego running the show from behind the scenes. The individual or entity who fund the work of anthropologists & translators even now. The capitalist will then use the information the anthropologist has gleaned from their adventures and see how best to exploit it. Are they are threat? What resources do they have? Do they have: Iron ore, gold, emeralds, cobalt etc A family in the landed gentry?

The anthropologist then returns to the new culture with their friends, having gained the confidence of the natives. Perhaps some trading deals occur. The two cultures start to interact in ways that are believed to be mutually beneficial. That is until the colonialist makes a final, fatal calculation: The land these people are on, their wealth and resources are for more valuable to me than the relationships (trading and or emotional) I have with the people.

A military convey is deployed and the inhabitants of the land are dispatched. Once the coast is clear, people from the colonizing culture gradually leak into the "new" land and make it their own. The amount of bloodshed that they are aware of varies, but all agree not to dwell too much. A separation occurs. A split in reality.

THE REALITY IS tho, that THIS MODEL OF COLONIZATION WILL HAPPEN INTERNALLY AS WELL. ie Oliver Quick.

Although he didn't know the language of the Ox-bridge elite, he knew how to speak the language of Felix's heart. He knew how to position himself in relationship to the cultural & emotional values that Felix had.

He then reported back to the capitalist: himself

This is the essence of the horror film. Olie was not an innocent bystander to the structure of colonization like the kindly anthropologist. He was fully united with his capitalist shadow in his endevor to take over the Catton fortune.

Ollie colonized the fuck out of the Cattons, and like the errily empty lands of America, Oliver Quick enjoys the spoils of war in the house he did not build, on a land he was not from.

#saltburn 2023 #saltburn meta #colonization #palestine #free palestine #colonizing #settler colonialism #oliver quick #Felix Catton #Venetia Catton

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spacecasehobbit · 23 days

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Saltburn does have an important message that a lot of people seem to miss, which is that having sympathetic motivations or a sympathetic backstory doesn't actually negate cruelty or make it right to make other people bear the burden of your own insecurity and pain.

Oliver is a deeply sympathetic character, in that he's awkward and lonely and gets preyed on by a manipulative rich boy who likes to feel like a savior of friendless losers that he eventually gets bored of. Yet Oliver winds up dealing with this by climbing his way to the top of a pile of awful people, resorting to all their worst behaviors to get himself there, and the harm he causes is wrong regardless of the sympathy of his starting circumstances.

Similarly, Farleigh and Venetia are sympathetic characters who take out their own pain on other people (primarily on Oliver, during the movie).

Farleigh is the half black son of Sir James's wayward sister, both a part of the family and yet also treated like this definitely racist family's longest running charity project at the same time. He's constantly performing for his racist family, constantly feeling like an outsider in his own family, never quite as 'good' as them, never quite as 'worthy'. This does make him a deeply sympathetic character, but it doesn't make him any less of a bully towards Oliver (and, likely, other people we don't see on screen, since it's Oliver's story we're watching). He is deeply yet casually cruel towards total strangers, as a way of covering up for his own insecurities over the way he's treated by the Cattons. He's sympathetic, but he still causes harm in a way that isn't excused by being sympathetic.

Venetia, too, seems to have a very sympathetic background, from what little we see of her. She has a mother who gossips about her eating disorder and low self-esteem to relative strangers. Felix finds it completely believable that she would be wandering around drunk at night trying to kiss his friends, and he only thinks it makes her embarrassing, with no indication that this behavior should actually be worrying, if it had been true. She also doesn't seem to do anything with her life except hang out in her home developing drinking problems. She also hits on her brother's friends even while knowing that he will cut them off as friends if they sleep with her, and she responds to her own pain or rejection by lashing out with cruelty in return. Both times she feels hurt - whether by Oliver directly, when he picks Felix over her, or because she is grieving and Oliver is simply an easy target for her pain - she takes out her own hurt on Oliver by trying to make him feel small and hurt instead. It's sympathetic, sure, but it's not actually okay, either. It's sympathetic, but it's still cruelty for the sake of cruelty, and it's still wrong.

One moral of Saltburn is that returning cruelty with cruelty, whether it's revenge or cruelty turned on random strangers to assuage one's own pain, leads only to more hurt and pain and suffering.

One message of Saltburn that I'd argue is very important is that a person can be sympathetic and also still be wrong.

#saltburn #saltburn meta

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