Saltburn is for all those who love a good, thrilling, yet sick movie from time to time. The movie shows Oliver’s obsession with the Saltburn estate and how he goes to great lengths to eliminate each member of the family to gain complete control over it. The Saltburn plot introduces Ollie, played by Barry Keoghan, as an outcast at Oxford University who ends up placing himself in the life of Felix and his elite friends. Ollie gets inspired by Felix’s carefree lifestyle and comes up with a plan to win him over.
This dark thriller will surely leave you on edge as you wait to discover how Ollie ends up eliminating all the members of the family and eventually gains the estate. Learn all the twisted truths of each member’s death and find the meaning of the ending in-depth.
Felix’s Death in the Maze
Even though Felix’s death seems like an accident and even a potential suicide attempt, Oliver uncovers the truth that he killed him towards the end of the movie. Ollie can be seen pouring something into his wine bottle before he goes to meet him in the maze. After he interrupts Felix, he and Ollie argue, then he pushes the bottle into Felix’s hands. He is then seen drinking from the bottle while Ollie quickly exits.
Ollie had indeed poisoned Felix by adding a massive amount of cocaine that he had gotten from Farleigh. He made two shots with one stone, as the signs of cocaine would lead to the blame on Farleigh. This wasn’t Ollie’s first attempt to get rid of Farleigh, but by far, this was the most successful attempt.
Was Ollie Behind Ventia’s Suicide
Oliver wasted the least amount of time in cutting off Ventia, who was the last among the children in the family. He framed her death as a suicide, but is that really what happened? In the scene, he goes up to Ventia, who is busy taking a bath after consuming alcohol all day. Ventia questions Ollie, asking him why he is still there, and calls him different names. The conversation is relatively rigid, and he puts razor blades in the bath. Even though he knows she has been drinking, struggles mentally, and is suffering through a lot of sadness at the moment.
We can’t see her death scene, so we can just conclude that Ollie pushed her to use them and left while acting ambiguous. Like Felix, Venetia had also labeled Ollie a destructive force, which made him push her out of the scenario to get Saltburn for himself in the future eventually.
A Revelation of Oliver’s Reasons For Getting Close to the Family
Ollie’s strangeness is shown in the scene above Felix’s grave. After the death of Felix, he is left with where he drops on his knees, crying out loud on the dirt, exactly where Felix has been buried. But the scene shifts towards madness when he goes from crying to stripping off his clothes and then thrusting into the dirt. This showcases his deep yet conflicting emotions towards Felix.
This scene shows a lot in just a few minutes, and it also gives the audience a hint that Oliver was behind the death of Felix. The extreme depiction of sadness, love, and obsession that Ollie feels for Felix is shown in real, hinting that he planned to form a close bond with Felix, not to claim Saltburn. It then shifts to the time he spends at the mansion, and his anger and loathing toward Felix grows when he remembers how he cuts him out.
Oliver Manipulates Elspeth and Then Murders Her
Ollie left Saltburn because he wanted to honor James’ wishes and never come back until, of course, he was dead. After a quick skip to the future, we can see how Oliver has been using the money that he got from James to leave. But, after finding out about James’ death, he plans a chance meeting with Elspeth. He ensures it’s very random, similar to his encounter with Felix.
He then tries to return to her life, and she can be seen ignorant of his manipulative behavior. However, the ending scene is quite disturbing; Elspeth is quite ill, and he reveals everything to her. Starting with his story, how he kills her family, and he finishes it by ripping out the breathing tube. However, no explanations regarding her condition have been given, leaving out the question of whether it was a natural death or something that Oliver had a part in.
James Death and Farliegh’s Fate Explained In-Depth
The twist in the end shows how Oliver’s friendship with Felix is fake, and he had stalked Felix initially so he could befriend him. It also uncovers how he had killed the rest of the family to take over the billion-dollar mansion and everything they had. James is dead, but the way he died is still not clear. According to Elspeth, she is quite surprised Oliver waited this long, which is an indication that it can be an attempt at suicide. If this is true, then Oliver will again be held responsible because of the toll the sudden killings took on James. However, it can be a natural death too. We can’t be sure.
Oliver dealt with Felix, Farleigh, and Venetia quite quickly. So if he had any plans to kill James, then we wouldn’t have waited 20 years to do so. Farleigh is quite mysterious. Oliver’s plan included getting him exiled; he could do it because Elspeth didn’t name him heir. Ollie and Farliegh share a different relationship, as he is part of the family and even an outsider. If he were killed, Ollie would have a place in the family as per his sick mentality. But leaving Farleigh in America and taking over the estate is his idea of excluding himself from the family and the house.
The Real Meaning of Saltburn’s Ending
In the end, Ollie proclaims ownership of the Saltburn estate, which was his intention that developed as the events in the movie unfolded. Another reason why he wanted possession was because of his with Pamela and Farleigh. According to Ollie, he was in love with Felix, but his constant love for power and greed is above the genuine love he feels for him or the Catton family members. Through the ending, we can conclude that Ollie ended the Catton family one by one so that he dances around nude in their mansion. However, it isn’t greed and power that he seeks; he wants a sense of belonging, and that’s what he goes after.
We can conclude from the movie that Ollie is a killer, a liar, and a psychotic. He is dishonest throughout the film and puts up an act with each member of the family and cons them in his way. Initially, he wants to be with Felix, but when he arrives, he understands that being part of the family will be a struggle. Beginning with the egg scene, the karaoke time, and even Pamela’s death, he is constantly reminded that he will never belong and just be a visitor.
From the start to the end, you can see how he faces many issues while fitting in Oxford, but eventually, he achieves his goal by becoming the owner of the Saltburn estate. He celebrates his triumph by dancing through the mansion completely naked. Ironically, he could only reach this level after killing all the members.
Bottom Line
That movie is indeed a twisted and dark one! But reading all the explanations may have answered all your questions and helped you understand why Ollie was the way he was. His fascination with Felix and his lifestyle led him to the end, where he ended up killing and then dancing in the Saltburn estate as the ‘owner.’
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Bethany Wilson 
Lucas Brown 
