Emerald Fennell on 'Saltburn,' class and Barry Keoghan: Fall Movie Preview
In “Saltburn,” Emerald Fennell dives into the British tradition of a gothic tale set at a grand country estate
NEW YORK (AP) — Countless English protagonists have for decades been making their way to grand country estates where their lives are irrevocably changed. “Brideshead Revisited.” “The Go-Between.” “Remains of the Day.” “Rebecca.”
These are some of the books that Emerald Fennell grew up devouring. And when the dust had settled on “Promising Young Woman,” her incendiary Oscar-winning directorial debut, Fennell, too, wanted to make her way to a fictional stately manor.
“I really wanted to make a movie that was a take on the classic English gothic story,” Fennell says. “It felt like an incredibly well-worn and therefore intriguing genre to start looking at and applying pressure to.”
In “Saltburn,” which opens in theaters Nov. 24, Fennell applies her particular and potent brand of pressure to the one of the longest standing British genres. And given the bleakly vengeful conclusion of her provocative debut, it’s safe to say that things get quite a bit bumpier at Saltburn than they ever did at Downton Abbey.
