Can you think of anything more off-putting than a bunch of rich, over-dressed weirdos singing bad Fl0-Rida karaoke? While director Emerald Fennell certainly can, she does leave audiences with this genuine nightmare as a stand-in for just how out-of-touch—and how deeply corny—the world of her upcoming film truly is.
Saltburn, a “beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire,” per MGM’s official synopsis, follows a regular Joe Oxford student named Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) as he gets swept into the opulent and intoxicating world of young aristocrat Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi, sporting an eyebrow piercing as cheesy and as on-point as that karaoke scene).
While Saltburn’s first teaser was clearly aiming for a more sinister and sensual vibe, this trailer injects a welcome amount of levity to the proceedings. Elordi, who hasn’t really been given much opportunity to flex his comedic chops in the past, is genuinely quite funny here—whether or not that was his intention. The actor muttering out “it’s like... uh... black tie” as if he’s reporting the weather in response to Oliver’s very reasonable skepticism about the estate’s fancy dinner dress code is a great moment, at least.
This trailer also lends some insight into the actual relationship between Keoghan and Elordi’s characters, which seems less sexually-charged prince and the pauper (as some had predicted) and more bored 20-something adopting a new puppy. Oliver, for his part, seems to relish in and crave the attention. In what is presumably the first time the two men meet, Oliver offers his bike to Felix with zero prompting (Felix doesn’t hesitate to take it, of course) and later gets down on all fours for a sip of champagne from his counterpart’s hand. Elsewhere in the trailer, the rest of the family appraises Oliver’s “beautiful eyes” and other features as if he is on show.
The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan, and some truly insane wigs. While Saltburn seems to know it’s a bit of a mess, it also seems like one that will be as fun to get lost in as all of the posters promise.
Saltburn premieres in select theaters November 17, before a wide release November 22.