Despite its awards acclaim, the critical response to Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman was a bit all-over-the-place. The Oscar winner is now back this year with her follow-up Saltburn, which finds Barry Keoghan leading a tale of young infatuation and eccentric living, following his character as a college student who becomes obsessed with his aristocratic schoolmate (Jacob Elordi). Shot by Damien Chazelle’s frequent cinematographer Linus Sandgren, the first trailer for the film has now arrived ahead of a limited release on November 24 and expansion on December 1.
“My favorite thing in general is sympathy for the devil,” Fennell told Vanity Fair. “The sorts of people that we can’t stand, the sorts of people who are abhorrent—if we can love them, if we can fall in love with these people, if we can understand why this is so alluring, in spite of its palpable cruelty and unfairness and sort of strangeness, if we all want to be there too, I think that’s just such an interesting dynamic.”
BFI London Film Festival’s Kristy Matheson, who selected the film as their opener, said, “As soon as the credits rolled on Saltburn it was clear we’d met our opening night film. Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell returns with an expertly crafted and exhilarating thrill ride of a film that showcases an enormous depth of UK talents in front of and behind the camera. With its exceptional performances, delicious plot twists and a soundtrack of early 21st century pop bangers, this hugely ambitious film immediately stole our hearts and we can’t wait to share it with audiences in London and across the UK this October.”
See the trailer below for the film also starring Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Carey Mulligan.
Saltburn opens in limited release on November 24 and expands on December 1.