Between scenes of drain-slurping, naked choreo and – oh yeah! – all of the lying, scheming and actual murder, there are countless reasons that Saltburn is one of the most talked-about films on the planet right now.
It has to be said, though, that there’s one scene in particular that’s really raised eyebrows.
And be warned – there are major Saltburn spoilers ahead.
Those who’ve already seen Emerald Fennell’s hit film will recall one sequence involving Barry Keoghan’s character, Oliver.
After offing his friend and the object of his affections, Felix (played by Jacob Elordi), Oliver is seen mourning at his grave, only to take things quite a few steps further by stripping off and proceeding to… well… hump it.
What’s perhaps even more shocking is the fact this scene wasn’t actually in the script – and only came about after conversations between Barry and the director.
“The gravesite was sort of like a collaboration with me and Emerald,” the Oscar nominee told Variety back in November.
“On the day, I was like, ‘Can I try something?’. I wanted to see what the next level of obsession was. So I asked for a closed set. I wanted to see where it went. It could have gone completely wrong but I think it moved the story.”
Heaping praise on the sequence, Emerald added: “If you’re taken over with grief and horror and love and sadness, people do crazy things. And that’s what this film is about.”
Barry also spoke to Digital Spy about the scene in question last month, insisting it was “required” to show more about Oliver’s character.
“[Emerald and I] always chat, we always try to justify the actions, the motives, and we’ll debate some stuff,” he added.
“We’ll go, ‘That works, that doesn’t.’ That just shows the level of trust we have for one another.”
In Saltburn’s final moments, Oliver dances nude around the manor he is inherited to celebrate his plans coming together, which Barry also spoke out about in the lead-up to the film’s release.