Rosamund Pike- “You guys like me! You really, really like me!”

I’d love to live at Saltburn. Those people were still wealthy enough to have full staff including footman to serve each meal alongside the butler. I’d also just live in my magic bubble of wealthy and fun.

“Still wealthy enough”, r1? That implies something would have caused them to no longer be wealthy. Sir James inherited his wealth and the house that has been around for over 100 years. Felix tells Oliver that the author who wrote those novels based it off their family.

They’re old money. That rarely goes away.

The Catton’s are generational wealth. Not new money.

Just saw this movie. Erm, ok is my response.

No one lives in this kind of house with full staff and footmen anymore. That's a bizarre idea. A hundred years is nothing. These houses are invariably hundreds of years and extremely costly to maintain. The families associated with them (many are National Trust) are old aristocracy and may not even have that much money left. "Old money" is a very American concept.

The house in the film is Drayton House and is owned by the Stopford-Sackvilles.

R4 actually, yes. It’s still a thing in the UK, and certainly was in 2006. Clearly you thought you were watching a film in 2023? IFFFF you even really watched it.

R4 you sound so stupid. Omg lmao.

I just watched Saltburn and Oliver was a psycho I won't soon forget. I always love Rosamund Pike in everything she does. She was robbed of the oscar for Gone Girl in my opinion.

That movie got less interesting as it went along, and so did Pike’s character. She was fine but didn’t have very much to do.

She was great.

It was the same in 2003 as it is in 2023, r5. You're thinking of 1903.

I saw it last night, not sure why you doubt that.

She will rest in our hearts forever.

With a tasteful cello quartet version of Pulp's Common People playing softly in the background

R4 you really don’t know about that. People still do live that way in England.

R12 No. No they don't.

They might still have a team of people to look after the house and estate, but they don't have a team of uniformed butlers. That shit went out years ago among the aristocracy. The royals and "royal-adjacent" might do, but no-one else does. You only see it among "new money" these days.

Big houses like the one in the film are ten-a-penny in the UK and most of them are open to the public. If anyone does live there, they live in a tiny section of the big house where having personal staff attending to their every whim would be ludicrous. Downton Abbey and Gosford Park etc were set a long time ago.

Who are these people, r12? The whole social and economic structure represented by that "way of life" was broken down by the First World War and dealt a death blow by the Second. Landed estates with manor houses kept whole and passed down from generation to generation within an extended aristocratic or titled family barely exist anymore. The entire legal, economic, agricultural and social structure that sustained them is gone. The system of farming that sustained these properties stopped existing a while ago.

Similarly, the butlers, maids, and footmen in particular disappeared a long time ago.

Drayton House, where Saltburn was filmed, is one of the few such houses still left in full private ownership, but the family that owns it, the Stopford Sackvilles, all work and are based mostly in London.

I really liked her performance. My favorite line was when they were going away for the friend's funeral: "She'll do anything for attention."

[quote] They’re old money. That rarely goes away.

Wait, what?!

I am thrilled you old queens finally recognize that I am firmly in the pantheon of screen legends. Remember that when you receive your ballots.

R14 just because the people who actually live there don’t live like the people in Saltburn doesn’t mean there aren’t people who don’t live like that. There are still aristocrats who do. Stop talking about shit you know NOTHING about. As usual.

R12 you retard, it’s not that the jobs don’t exist anymore, it’s that they no longer hold the same titles.

“‘Greater efficiencies with tools and equipment are in evidence now, compared with tasks being undertaken by hand and horse in the early 20th century,’ remarks Mr Harley. Downton Abbey was stuffed with staff such as Mr Carson and Mrs Patmore, but, today, our estates employ far fewer people who perform multiple roles.”

In modern day they still have people who do those jobs, they just don’t have as many staff members. In the past they had many staff members who fulfilled a specific role but now they have less staff who still fulfill the same roles, but now one person has multiple jobs to do vs one. But they still have staff in modern day aristocracy.

R12 an article from 2016 TIME MAGA did that interviews 3 men, one a former footmen and another an employee for an aristocratic family, and they confirm that these roles are still very much alive in modern day aristocracy but has evolved with time, naturally. Why you always wanna argue shit that can be confirmed is beyond me. Stick to lies that you have a job and education, but when it comes to lies about things that we can provide factual evidence for, STFU.

Hmmm, a 2020 article that once again confirms that modern aristocratic families still have staff… but r12 knows it doesn’t exist anymore!!!! Everyone else must be lying. Not them.

A 2022 article about this still existing… hmmmm.

Where are these aristocrats, r18? Can you actually name a single family in Britain today who lives like that?

The funny thing is, Sir James has neither an aristocratic nor a hereditary title.

Yeah, r24 is just trolling. As usual. I guess it’s what keeps him going since he has no job and no education. No degree. No career. Nothing. So trolling on the internet full time it is.

Most aristocratic families aren’t famous.

Rich families, aristocratic or not, have staff. That doesn't mean they have the romanticised staff of Downton Abbey or the deliberately macabre and fantastical set up of Saltburn.

R21, that article doesn't say anything like what you think it does, r21. Even that bizarre machine-produced article linked at r22 doesn't say what r22 thinks it says.

R26 from r21 article

“Have the customs and standards that audiences see on Downton Abbey continued to this day?

Yes. In fact, I would go as far as to say that with modern gadgetry and equipment, some households now strive to deliver even higher levels of service. From silver polishes and electronic gadgetry to floor-polishing machines and clothes steamers, technology has helped immeasurably. Every department—Kitchen, Food and Beverage Service, Housekeeping and Garden—is reaching new heights. This is especially true on yachts, where there is a clear intention to elevate the level of service to an art form.

Why yachts in particular? It’s an enigma. They’re not houses, so one might think the level of service would be lower than in a home, but it’s become a game for the crew to outshine their client’s friends or competitors. How? Stewardesses service cabins and bathrooms every time a guest uses a space, changing the D. Porthault linen sheets three times a day if necessary. Deckhands will be up at 4:30 a.m. to scrub down everything in sight so that it’s gleaming when the client wakes up for breakfast, while chefs will have everything available all of the time. That means that provisioning will often have no budget—and certain ingredients will be flown in on the client’s private jet. One of my previous employers instructed his pilot to hide a whole leg of Parma ham and several Sicilian air-dried sausages by sitting on them while the aircraft was inspected by US customs. That’s how important it was to have the finest ham available on his yacht!

Back in the ’20s and ’30s, lower-class children were sent into great houses to be hall boys and kitchen maids and worked their way up. How does it work now? Palaces and embassies play their part in training staff, but grand hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants are also responsible for providing the industry with new recruits. And people still start as bellhops or kitchen porters. I know of one gentleman, Raja, a Jordanian with no formal education, who started work in a Five-Star hotel in Amman as a bellboy. Twenty years later, after a lot of hard work and a hell of a lot of determination—mixed with infectious enthusiasm for his job—he is now a palace manager in Saudi Arabia. Obviously, a butler on an estate in the 1920s and 1930s would often have his job for life. Is there more turn-around now than there was back in the day? Yes. It is unusual for staff to stay beyond 10 years, but it must also be remembered that few if any employers in the U.K. willingly provide pensions, so while some employers complain that staff do not stay in their positions as they used to, staff are now forced to consider other jobs. How realistic is Downton Abbey in its depiction of these relationships? I would argue that they’re way too informal and not entirely based on what happened in British households in that period. While elements of the story line are quite factual, it makes me chuckle to see the lady of the house in the kitchen with the chef talking about menus, or gossiping with her maid as she prepares for dinner—if only because these things don’t happen today, so they certainly would not have happened in the 1920s or earlier.“

Also, one of the men interviewed in 2016 was a recently retired footmen. His literal title. But the article doesn’t acknowledge it? 😂😂😂😂

“Downton Abbey’s drama is driven by the relationship between the downstairs world of the scrappy servants and the aristocratic family upstairs. But how has the real-life version of that dynamic evolved over the past century? Kevin Johnson—a former footman at the British Embassy in Paris, a past employee of modern aristocrats and current owner of the Green Baize Door, an upscale British staffing agency—weighs in.”

Nope. The article doesn’t acknowledge it according to the JOBLESS RETARD r26

The link at r22….

“The traditional butler has not vanished from households. Some households still prefer their butlers to perform traditional duties and responsibilities as they have for decades. Thanks to technology, managing various responsibilities and duties has become easier, such as keeping track of wine and liquor inventories and placing orders when stocks need to be replenished.

A traditional butler, dressed in the familiar suit—even the more formal one with white gloves—is also desired at formal events, special occasions, and parties when they need to fit the part, still to this day. Seeing a butler dressed in traditional-style clothing adds a sense of elegance and luxury to these events. Plus, they bring with them all their knowledge of wines, liquors, proper etiquette, and other such skills to ensure these events are a huge success.

A modern butler quite frequently possesses all the knowledge and skills of a traditional butler. Many still attend a formal butler school of training to develop their abilities. Many modern butlers also know at least one foreign language, if not several, just like their traditional counterparts. This makes them equally valuable at events where you are entertaining guests whose primary language is not English.

What Has Changed for a Modern Butler? One noticeable change from traditional butlers is the clothing modern butlers wear. Unless it is a formal event that requires traditional dress, most modern butlers are allowed to dress less formally. Business casual dress is appropriate for many households. In more informal settings, modern butlers may be allowed to dress down and wear jeans and a polo shirt or other less formal styles of clothing.

Another change is in the education and training of the modern butler. While many will still attend formal butler school, they also obtain training in the hospitality and foodservice industries. The skills they learn in the hospitality and foodservice industries can include management skills, budgeting, payroll, bookkeeping, event planning, meal planning, meal preparation, travel arrangements, and so on.

Some even will obtain a chauffeur’s license to be able to serve as the household’s personal driver. Having these additional skills and knowledge further adds value to what a modern butler can bring to your household.”

Nope. Doesn’t acknowledge that these roles are still around. Not at all. *sarcasm*

Bitches here.

Anyone: “I like your sweater. Did you know butler is still a job?”

First reply:

I'm just confused how a house like that, which seemed to come from an old titled family, could be passed on to Oliver. Pike's character leaves him her home and we can assume enough money to run it, but how?

They showed her signing documents, which I assume were either a will or some sort of transfer of ownership. Since she did not die intestate, other related people would have no claim to the estate, unless she was deemed incompetent or under undue influence. At least that's how it works in the US. No idea about England.

R31 you didn’t see her signing a bunch of documents? They showed it. That’s her signing all the assets and estate over to him. In case you didn’t notice, everyone else died. The only other person we know of who could come try to take the estate back is James’s sister and Farleigh.

And now Back To ME!

It’s so weird how now paid users on twitter can upload an entire film in a tweet

I guess my confusion would come from stately aristocratic homes being inherited by the males. I guess this family didn’t have that setup, but the homes been in their family for hundreds of years, so it’s baffling that it wasn’t within a trust that would hand it over to a male relative or Felix’s aunt & cousin.

Just really, really, really odd. Be like Oliver inheriting Blenheim Palace after killing the current duke and his children. Other family would come to collect.

Rosamund has an exquisite face.

[quote]The funny thing is, Sir James has neither an aristocratic nor a hereditary title.

Max de Winter in "Rebecca" did not have a title either.

Not everyone in old wealthy families have aristocratic or hereditary titles. Tilda Swinton's father was made a laird based on his own achievements in the army, but he is from one of the oldest landed families in all of Great Britain, and his father and grandfather and several generations back did not have titles. yet they were wealthy and lived in a nineteenth-century castle, Kimmerghame House.

Max de Winter is a fictional character, r38.

Not sure what your point about Tilda Swinton's father is. A 19th-century house is not an old estate that has been in the family for centuries. His family did not have titles for several generations back presumably because his direct ancestor was a younger brother who did not inherit the title nor the ancient family home, hence the 19th-century house. This underlines the fact that a Sir James, as opposed to a Lord James of Ancient Noble Seat, is unlikely to have possessed a family estate that had been in the family for many centuries.

Emerald had a bit of a conundrum as she wanted this great noble house to form the backdrop and be a character in its own right but she was aware that in the 21st century the idea that Oxford is full of Lord Flytes no longer works.

Oxford is filled with rich peoples kids. Indeed.

Yes, rich people's kids, like the kids of Theo Fennell. Not necessarily aristocrats, though.

[quote] Max de Winter is a fictional character, [R38].

And he's been accepted by British readers without comment for generations.

You do not have to have a title to own a big inherited country house in the UK.

R41 but the film never said all the kids there were aristocrats. Did you watch the movie? They were rich but in no sense did you get the sense they were aristocrats. You’re just talking out of your loose ass at this point.

What's the general consensus on Saltburn on DL? Is it worth watching?

r44, there's lots of good eye candy: long close-ups of Jacob Elordi's beautiful face, and we get to see a lot of Barry Keoghan naked--he is very homely facially, but has a great body, ass, and dick (though there's quite a lot of debate as to whether or not the latter is a prosthetic).

There are also very funny performances by Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant as a pair of rich ditzes.

Overall many people (including me) find the whole movie disappointing. There's a big twist that comes at the end that Helen Keller could see coming, and though the movie seems fable-like or allegorical, it's not exactly clear what's being allegorized. It seems to be a whole mess of previous movies and novels ("Brideshead," "The Go-Between," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and especially "Teorema") put into a huge blender on "puree."

R45 don’t even answer him. He’s all over the thread but hasn’t watched?

R46, that was my only post in this entire thread

R45, thank you

R47 but that wasn’t your only post on Saltburn threads.

R49, yes, it was. I have not posted on any other Saltburn threads.

Rosamund Pike, not a million miles from her Saltburn character. As for Emerald Fennell, the film's director......

Privileged girls.

Rosamund Pike is channeling Olivia Colman's "Wot?! Me?! Simple living, dorky me?"