"Saltburn"

And so, we arrive at awards season (delayed by the actors' strike).  Enter "Saltburn" -- a moody, veddy veddy British tale as old as time.  A welfare kid befriends a rich kid at Oxford (of course, Oxford), and the rich kid invites the welfare kid to his "summer home" -- a palacial estate filled with the kind of dysfunctional family the rich often try to cover up.  How could anything go wrong?  The direction and acting are great, of course ... however ... this isn't a new story.  I knew, from the opening title card, what was going to happen.  And it's one of those things where there is no one, absolutely not one character, to root for.  And that's not to my personal taste.  This is the conflict of these kinds of films.  I would never watch them if not for the nominations they gather.  And, if I personally dislike them -- a lot -- is that a reflection of how good or bad they are as a film?  No, generally not.  The fact that I don't gravitate towards westerns or horror movies doesn't mean that all westerns and horror movies are bad.  They just aren't my thing.  This film was very well made.  But it is totally not my thing.  And, as brilliant as Barry Keoghan is as an actor, I really didn't buy him as an 18 year old Freshman.  Sorry.