PerthZine

Tag: jacob elordi

  • Classic Movie Review – Saltburn (2023)

    Classic Movie Review – Saltburn (2023)

    Stop doing that Barry, yuck.

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    With Wuthering Heights getting plenty of attention, it’s time to go back to director Emerald Fennell’s last film Saltburn. With only a few movies under her belt, Fennell has dabbled in extremes, and this is no exception.

    Barry Keoghan is Oliver Quick, a scholarship student at Oxford and from the start a fish out of water. A seemingly chance encounter with nepo-kid Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) gets him in with the cool crowd and he eventually finds himself invited to the family manor, Saltburn.

    Oliver remains awkward but the old money Catton family are all chaos and intensity, and he is welcomed with open arms, despite some suspicion coming from Farleigh (Archie Madekwe), a cousin also around for the family wealth. Weird things happen as they enjoy the summer, with flirtatious sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) getting involved in one of the grosser scenes of the movie.

    Oliver is eventually caught out for lying about growing up poor with addict parents and pushed away by Felix, but he doesn’t want to go anywhere and does everything he can to hang around. It gets a bit nonsensical towards the end, but we’ve had plenty of twists, turns, and disturbing moments along the way.

    Keoghan is always excellent sitting in his creepy character pocket, he’s played this a few times (The Killing of a Sacred Deer), and the only real issue with this role is he’s 30 playing a first-year university student. Elordi is great as the posh but cool Felix, showing he’s got the charisma and acting chops to go far (he’s playing Heathcliff in Fennell’s much-hyped adaptation of Wuthering Heights, in case he wasn’t already a star).

    The supporting cast are also strong with Alison Oliver as the mischevious sister, alongside Rosamund Pike as Lady Cotton and her husband Sir James Cotton, played by Richard E. Grant.

    The film is set in 2006 and the soundtrack matches, noting the Sophie Ellis-Bextor hit Murder on the Dancefloor broke big again following the release of Saltburn. We also get 4:3 aspect ratio which is an interesting choice. Fennell’s reasoning for this is to give a voyeurs view of the action, and with extreme close-ups intensifying moments, it is hard to argue against the choice. In general, it is shot beautifully.

    It tries hard, leaning on a Mr Ripley-esque plot, and keeps you entertained despite not quite hitting the mark on all fronts, especially as the ending just kind of wraps everything up without a hitch, and no one is the wiser. Fennell definitely knows how to get people’s attention and feels like once she irons out the kinks, she has the potential to be a great director.

  • Movie Review – Frankenstein (2025)

    Movie Review – Frankenstein (2025)

    Del Toro Brings the Gore and Sex Appeal

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

    Guillermo Del Toro seems to be in the doing-dream-projects phase of his filmography. After a varied career with some incredible fairytale-like stories alongside sci fi and fantasy films, he’s taking on the classics with Netflix. First came Pinocchio, now he’s had a go at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (perhaps Moby Dick next?).

    Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, the scientist raised by a strict father to know everything about the human anatomy and now obsessed with re-animating dead human bodies. Isaac is solid and suits the mad scientist role nicely. He meets a man who is willing to back his cause and fund the experiments (Christoph Waltz, always a pleasure to watch), and falls for his brother’s fiancé (Mia Goth, absorbing but a little underused).

    Most will know what happens next from either the book or the other film adaptations – Victor successfully sews a bunch of body parts together and brings his creation to life. Jacob Elordi plays the monster and plays him very well, especially the earlier scenes where he’s mostly mute. Though still somewhat grotesque, this must be the hottest version of the monster we have seen. Despite the stitches he’s still tall, dark and handsome with a ripped body; it’s an interesting take on it, and very much aligned with the tall, slender monsters we see in modern horror.

    I appreciate the true-to-the-novel approach, including the monster’s perspective. It is a nice touch that captures Shelley’s masterful shift to give the monster emotional grounding and evoke sympathy for him. Otherwise, we have some interesting diversions from the novel, namely the monster being invincible (even explosives seem to have no effect). It’s been a while since I read the novel, but I don’t think he was a superhero/villain. There is also quite a bit of gore, with body parts and animals being torn to shreds – not for the faint hearted. The novel themes, such as God/creation and alienation are all dealt with and add some depth to the shimmering surface of the movie.

    As far as the visuals and styling go, it is what we come to expect from Del Toro, with heavy CGI that at times looks colourful and vibrant, if video game-like, and some questionable bits (come on, haven’t we got the budget to do better sheep and wolves?). The pacing is good and mostly keeps the viewer entertained; plenty of action. I can’t say I felt bored during the 2-hour 20-minute runtime.

    Overall, this is a better adaptation than the last true novel adaptation starring De Niro as the monster (1994, directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played Victor), if a little more Netflix, home-popcorn entertainment style.