Warning: Spoilers for Saltburn. I tried my best, but seriously, go watch this movie. It’s a masterpiece. (Make sure to check for content warnings. The movie is rated R for a reason.)

With all of this talk of classism and the false-seduction of wealth, it became apparent to me that these conversations are very reminiscent of conversations surrounding the 2023 queer psychological thriller/drama, Saltburn. Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, the film follows middle-class Oxford student Oliver Quick and his growing obsession with aristocratic culture.

My connection between The Great Gatsby and Saltburn started with its themes and the way those themes were delivered. No one in either the film or the novel can be considered a “good person.” Everyone has been corrupted by the comfort or culture of wealth. Gatsby, as well as the entirety of Felix and his family have become careless with their statuses. All wealthy characters in both pieces of media operate under this idea that they are untouchable–that they are above the struggle of the outside world. Both main characters are revealed to be varying levels of unreliable–Oliver is basically a combination of Nick and Gatsby’s worst qualities.
Saltburn was met with very mixed reviews upon its release. Just like The Great Gatsby, some viewers saw the film as lacking in substance. I’ve heard many critiques about how the characters were “flat” and the film relied too much on “vibes.” Sound familiar? The New York Times’ review likened trying to decipher Saltburn’s messages to reading IKEA instructions (Morris, 2023). Call me crazy, but it’s my opinion that sometimes having to analyze a piece of media to understand it is a good thing. Just like with Fitzgerald’s novel, I think some viewers saw the humanization of rich characters (while missing their more subtle character flaws) as incongruent with its critique on the toxicity of wealth.

Bibliography

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. eBook #64317. Project Gutenberg. Online. 11 February 2025. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/64317/64317-h/64317-h.htm

Fennell, Emerald, director & writer. Saltburn. Amazon Prime Video, 2023. 14 February 2025. https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.d6674b8e-5b88-45be-9361-63dd98818413.

Morris, Wesley. “‘Saltburn’ Review: A Promising Young Man Takes a Seedy Turn.” The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/movies/saltburn-review.html.