SaltburnCritics say, it is an attempt at the rich to criticize the life of the rich and aware. Let's take the house for example. The English country house is a family character, but often the fiction houses that are seen on the screen are the same reused properties of the National Trust. For Saltburn, Film over a young man who is dragged into the tempting world of the aristocratic Catton family, the screenwriter and director Emerald Fennell wanted to find a unique house that could also serve as a single location. She and the production designer Suzie Davies discovered a private mansion of 127 rooms in Northampthonshire that met all the requirements. (As part of the agreement to roll there, no one involved in production can reveal the name of the house).
«We managed to convince the owners,» says Davies about filming in the house: «Normally, in the properties of the National Trust and English Heritage, nothing is allowed to paint, or move paintings, or increase, or change anything. This family let us do enough things in the house and gave us free rein.»
Normally, for filmmakers it is not practical or possible to find all aspects of a decoration in one place: «That's why the house was so important,» says Fennell, «and it had to be something that would not have been used before. He had not even photographed, much less filmed. We always wanted to have the exact feeling that it is a real place.»
The current house was built around 1300, although the location dates back to 1066. Since then it has suffered several transformations, including one in the 18th century, when it was reformed with an ornate baroque facade. In the film, set in 2006, many of the existing rooms were used, as well as the square pond, the chapel and the gardens. The team added topiaries, contemporary art and sculptures, and brought furniture from Lots Road Auccs in London. Some of the modern works of art were created by the Art Department, but the team also obtained permission to play pieces by Ryan Mosley and Colin Harris, and the film artist Jason Line made the portraits of the Catton family that can be seen throughout the house.