Saltburn
NZ release: 16 November 2023
Sex scenes, suicide, drug use and offensive language Rated on: 27 October 2023
What’s it about?
Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
The facts
- Director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman)
- English language
- Runtime 131 minutes
Why did it get this rating?
Suicide
We see the aftermath of a character’s suicide with a brief shot of a bathtub of bloody water and the corpse’s head poking out of the water. It may be upsetting for viewers who have been impacted by suicide in their own lives.
A character is mentioned in passing as having died with the comment “She’d do anything for attention”.
Sex scenes
From outside the house a character watches a couple make-out through a gap in the curtains. In another scene a character watches through a gap in the door as a character masturbates.
A character jumps on another in bed and forces sex on him whilst coercing him to ‘behave’.
A female character is fingered by another character while on her period. We see the character putting his bloodied fingers in her mouth as she is fingered under her nightgown. The scene is dimly lit and a distant shot shows the character going down on her to perform cunnilingus.
A character gets naked outdoors and simulates sex lying on the dirty ground.
Drug use
Characters are seen drinking excessively and regularly smoking throughout the film. Addiction is mentioned in conversation about 'other people’ but the characters don’t see their own drinking as excessive or problematic. One scene shows a character smoking an unknown substance - it is not clear whether its marijuana or tobacco.
A few scenes where characters are seen snorting white powder and substances.
Offensive language
Strong language is used as emphasis throughout the film, such as “f*cking hell you gave me a fright” and “because you’re so f*cking beautiful”. “C*nt” is also mentioned.
Helplines
Further information
Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
‘Saltburn’, with affluent excess and some graphic shocks, tells dark, entertaining story (Chicago Sun Times)
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