Parents' Guide to

Saltburn

By Danny Brogan, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Wild drama about a privileged world; sex, nudity, language.

Movie R 2023 127 minutes

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 18 parent reviews

age 18+

Horribly disturbing

This movie is horribly disturbing. I wish I had not seen this weird filth. I would never want my kids to see the disturbing and disgusting sexual scenes. Don’t waste 2 hours of your time letting this disgusting movie have any space in your brain.
age 18+

Just awful

I watched this movie with my two young adult kids (in their 20’s), who seem to have a pretty high tolerance for things that make me uncomfortable or squeamish. They both felt really surprised at many scenes in this movie and uncomfortable with the repeated perversity. It didn’t have the suspense factor of a typical thriller, and what was there was overcome by grossness. We talked about it for quite a while after, and all agreed the movie could have been an effective psychological thriller without a character drinking semen in bath water, etc. I guess I decided to post this because I don’t see anyone else here calling this movie out for what it is. Pretty horrible.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (18 ):
Kids say (33 ):

In her much anticipated follow-up to her breakout film, Promising Young Woman, writer-director Emerald Fennell turns her attentions to the upper class of British society. Saltburn is set in a world of the ultra rich, where the privileged few spend their summers on family estates so big they can't remember the names of the staff that wait on them. Oliver is our gateway into this world after he's invited to spend the summer with his new friend, and fellow Oxford University student, Felix and his eccentric and extraordinarily wealthy family. Keoghan is superb in the lead role, showing off his range as an actor, and proving that he's game for pretty much anything. Elsewhere, Rosamund Pike as Elspeth, the matriarch of the family, gets much of the film's best lines. Saltburn joins a myriad of recent movies about the super-rich (The Menu and Triangle of Sadness to name a few) and, like those films, don't expect to find yourself rooting for anyone. Something of a Talented Mr. Ripley for Generation Z, prepare to enter a world that will shock and disgust, but also one that won't let you turn away.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: November 17, 2023
  • On DVD or streaming: December 22, 2023
  • Cast: Barry Keoghan , Jacob Elordi , Archie Madekwe
  • Director: Emerald Fennell
  • Inclusion Information: Female directors, Black actors, Female writers
  • Studios: MGM , Amazon Prime Video
  • Genre: Drama
  • Run time: 127 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, some disturbing violent content, and drug use
  • Last updated: March 7, 2024

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