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Saltburn starts heading for its climactic finale after the sudden death of Felix, which at first glance appears to be from an accidental overdose or some other type of fatal error. James and Elspeth try to carry on with their regularly formal and proper lifestyles in spite of their son's death, as Farleigh and Venetia can barely hold their composure at the table. Felix's body is taken away and the Catton family essentially disowns Farleigh after Oliver Quick reveals that he had been serving large amounts of cocaine at Oliver Quick's massive birthday party the night before.
Venetia is later found in a Saltburn bathtub filled with her own blood. James, distraught and perplexed by the back-to-back deaths of his two children and the ostracization of his symbolic third child Farleigh, pays Oliver Quick off to leave Saltburn once and for all, disturbed by his presence there and Elspeth's growing attachment. The film, which took place during the mid-2000s, jumps to the present day where Oliver Quick appears to have been living in luxury from the buyout money until he comes across James' obituary in the newspaper.
Pamela is dead from suicide (possibly staged by her ex). Felix is dead from an overdose (killed by Oliver Quick). Venetia is dead from suicide (manipulated by Oliver Quick). Farleigh is exiled - blamed for Felix's death (set up by Oliver Quick). James is dead - possibly suicide. Elspeth is dead - killed by Oliver Quick removing her breathing tube. Oliver Quick is the owner of Saltburn.
Oliver Quick "randomly" runs into Elspeth at a cafe, gets invited back to Saltburn, and manipulates her into making him heir to the estate. It is revealed that Oliver Quick's narration throughout has been to Elspeth, as she is in bed, extremely ill and being kept alive by various medical machines - and as he finishes his tale to her, he straddles her on the bed and rips out her breathing tube. Finally, Oliver Quick dances naked through Saltburn, in a twisted mirror of his original tour through the rooms with Felix.
While Felix's death in Saltburn appears to be some type of fatal accident or potentially even death by suicide, Oliver Quick reveals that he murdered Felix in the closing minutes of the film. Oliver Quick is seen pouring something into his bottle of wine or liquor before he sneaks up on Felix in the hedge maze the night of his death. After interrupting Felix's tryst, they argue, and Oliver Quick seems to be drinking out of the bottle, but then pushes it into Felix's hands. Felix is seen drinking it, before Oliver Quick leaves the maze.
Oliver Quick undoubtedly poisoned Felix and likely used a lethal amount of Farleigh's cocaine to do it. He essentially killed two birds with one stone in his sinister pursuit to take control of Saltburn, because using cocaine means that he is able to pin the blame for Felix's death on Farleigh, causing him to be banished from the estate (and the family). This wasn't the first time that Oliver Quick attempted to get rid of Farleigh, as it is also revealed that his attempt to sell stolen Palissy plates was also a setup, perpetrated by Oliver Quick after their sexual encounter.
Oliver Quick wasted little time in taking out the last living Catton child and heir to the Saltburn throne by framing Venetia's death as a suicide. In her final scene, Oliver Quick walks in on Venetia as she is taking a bath, after drinking all day. Echoing his final conversation with Felix, Venetia questions why he is still there, calling him a moth and a freak. It's a tense conversation, and it is shown in the final scenes that after this, Oliver Quick puts razor blades on the edge of the bath, knowing that she has struggled with mental health, that she is drunk, and that she is deep in grief.
Her actual death is not shown on-screen, so whether Oliver Quick simply left the blades, knowing that he has pushed her into using them, or actually stayed to use them himself is left intentionally ambiguous. However, he seems to prefer indirect means of murder and destruction, so it's implied that Venetia did take her own life, but that he manipulated the situation to lead to that end. Venetia, like Felix, had exposed Oliver Quick as the parasitical force that he was, which led Oliver Quick to take her out of the picture in order to preserve his shot at staying at Saltburn in the long run.
The scene that fully encapsulates the disturbing strangeness of Oliver Quick is his unforgettable display above Felix's grave. Following Felix's death, Oliver Quick is left alone by the family, and falls to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably on the dirt where Felix's body is buried. What starts as a very expected display of grief shifts as he goes from his knees to lying on the grave, starting to strip off his clothes and eventually lying naked on top of it, thrusting into the dirt in a bizarre display of his deepest and most conflicting feelings toward Felix.
This is one of the most telling scenes - especially after the audience is made aware that Oliver Quick killed Felix. The intensity of the grief and the love (or obsession) that he feels for Felix is shown to be very real, suggesting that his original plan was never to take Saltburn, but to form a bond with Felix. This starts to shift over his time at the estate, and his rage and hatred of Felix grows as he is marked as an outsider and as Felix cuts him out, but his original feelings remain.
Oliver Quick left Saltburn with a check in his pocket and honored James' wishes to never return, that is, until he was dead. The time jump in the final scenes shows that Oliver Quick has spent many years living off the money that he got for leaving, and presumably fulfilled his wish to never return home. However, his discovery of James' obituary sets him back in motion, and he arranges a 'chance' encounter with Elspeth.
Like his original connection with Felix, this is shown to have been carefully set up to appear natural and random, while being entirely premeditated. He is able to work his way back into her life easily - unsurprisingly, as she is shown to be susceptible to his manipulations during his initial visit to Saltburn. However, their final scene is one of the most disturbing, as she is shown to be seriously ill, and he has been telling her his story - including the revelation that he has murdered her children. He finishes by killing Elspeth much more directly, ripping out her breathing tube. Her illness is not fully explained, though — leaving the question of whether it is natural, or whether he has a hand in this, too.
The twist ending of Saltburn reveals that Oliver Quick's original friendship with Felix was all contrived, and that Oliver Quick had initially stalked Felix. It also reveals how he killed the rest of the family to take Saltburn and everything they had - but it leaves two character endings vague: James' and Farleigh's. James is, of course, dead, but the manner of his death is unclear.
Elspeth says that she is "surprised he waited so long", which could be a hint that he died by suicide - if this is the case, it would make Oliver Quick responsible, on some level, for the deaths of the entire family. However, it's also possible that it was a natural death. Oliver Quick dealt with Farleigh, Felix, and Venetia in quick succession, so if his plan included James' death, he would likely not have waited nearly twenty years to kill him. Farleigh is a bigger mystery. Oliver Quick's plan to exile him from the family clearly succeeds, as he is not involved in Elspeth's life or named as heir. However, there is no indication that Farleigh is dead. That said, being forgotten may be a more fitting fate. Farleigh and Oliver Quick have a unique relationship in the movie, as Farleigh is both part of the family and outside of it, and continually reinforces the idea that Oliver Quick is not truly part of this world, but that Farleigh always will be. If he were killed, Oliver Quick would be according him a place in the family, in his own sick way. But by taking over Saltburn and leaving Farleigh to his future in America, he is truly exiling Farleigh, and claiming the family place as his own.
The ending of Saltburn leaves Oliver Quick to claim ownership of the Saltburn estate, which has become his deepest desire - although this is a desire that may have been nurtured throughout the film, and through his interactions with Farleigh and Pamela. Although Oliver Quick claims repeatedly that he had loved Felix, his obsessive greed and lust for power are apparently much stronger than any genuine feelings he had developed for him or any member of the Catton family.
Saltburn's ending proves that Oliver Quick ended the Catton family piece by piece so that he could dance in the nude around their multimillion-dollar mansion. However, it goes deeper than simply a desire for wealth and power - to a desire for belonging. There's no doubt by the end of Saltburn that Oliver Quick is a sociopath, a murderer, and an incredibly deceitful individual. He lies constantly to every member of the family, as well as about his own family and situation. However, he did not seem to want to murder the family until the discovery of his lies risked his place in it. His early desires were to be with Felix, and to become part of the Catton family. However, from the moment he arrives, it is clear he does not truly belong. From the egg scene at breakfast, to karaoke, to the news of Pamela's death, his stay is a constant reminder that he will only ever be a visitor, and never truly belong. This desire to belong is part of the film from the opening scenes, when he struggles to fit in at Oxford, and eventually, he triumphs as the owner of Saltburn, there can be no doubt that he belongs there. His final, naked, dance through the halls celebrates this — however, the deep irony of it is that the only way he was able to reach this place of belonging is by getting rid of everyone else. He will only ever 'belong' if he is alone at Saltburn - and so, when there is no family left to belong to.
Saltburn was a textbook example of a movie that gained popularity (and, indeed, notoriety) thanks to word-of-mouth and going viral on social media. There are several key reasons why, too. The movie sparked an intense wider debate, and while it did have a theatrical run, it wasn't until Saltburn hit streaming in December 2023 that it became so widely known and discussed.
The main reason that it took off is, of course, the incredibly shocking and disturbing nature of many of Saltburn's scenes — scenes which couldn't be illegally filmed in theaters, but could be screen-grabbed and shared on platforms like TikTok and YouTube once Saltburn was available to stream. This was especially true of the final scene when Oliver Quick dances naked to "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, or Oliver Quick drinking Felix's bathwater. Such moments would beggar belief when described, but made for prime snippets that could be easily shared on social media platforms for shock reaction. Whatever side of that particular fence viewers sit on, however, this divisive nature only helped to ensure that Saltburn dominated the cultural zeitgeist for months. Then there was the wider debate that Saltburn sparked. The movie had plenty of core themes about elitism and social class structure. However, the way it went about it was incredibly divisive. Some felt that Saltburn was a stroke of genius, a genuinely successful attempt to create a conversation using shock-factor to express its key points. Others, however, felt that it was too heavy-handed, and that whatever message Saltburn was trying to convey was lost amidst Oliver Quick's disturbing antics. Whatever side of that particular fence viewers sit on, however, this divisive nature only helped to ensure that Saltburn dominated the cultural zeitgeist for months, and that it will continue to be discussed and dissected for years to come.