Saltburn Movie Would you like to know who the Catton family are? You will find an explanation here.
The extremely wealthy and eccentric Catton family make up the majority of the central characters in Emerald Fennell’s 2023 psychological thriller Saltburn.
Emeralda Fennell’s film Saltburn centers on Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) and the wealthy Catton family, whose luxurious lifestyle is presented from the perspective of a lower-class outsider. Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn is a psychological thriller that follows Oxford 2023 student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) as he develops an obsession with Felix Catton, a popular Oxford fellow student. After telling Felix of his father’s death, Oliver receives an invitation to spend the summer of 2007 at the Catton family estate in Saltburn.
The Cattons are an aristocratic British family living on the absurdly huge Saltburn estate in Northamptonshire, England. Despite their excessive wealth, they please some underclasses while extremely valuing others, making it difficult for a newcomer like Oliver to adapt to their upper class (or so it seems). The Cattons are prominent socialites with many connections in British high society, and their Saltburn property is home to a wealth of valuable historical artifacts and works of art. While there are certainly more members of the Catton family, Saltburn only features five characters with the last name Catton on-screen (and off-screen).
Felix Catton is the only son of Sir James and Lady Elspeth Catton, and the only brother of Venetia Catton. He studies at Oxford with Oliver and quickly becomes the object of Oliver’s twisted obsession. Felix is very handsome and naturally charming, which attracts increased sexual attention to him. According to Oliver himself, “everyone loved Felix. Everyone wanted to be with him. » Although he is largely blinded by privilege, Felix is portrayed as relatively good-hearted and seems a little more aware of the absurdity of his wealth than the rest of his family, even though he still reaps the benefits.
After learning the truth about Oliver’s marital status and officially ending their friendship, Felix finds himself dead in the middle of a hedge maze in Saltburn, still wearing his angel wings from the birthday party on the theme from Oliver’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream the night before. The cause of Felix’s death is not given at first, but it is implied that it was a drug overdose after Oliver exposes Farley for being “lined” for cocaine the night Felix died. It is later revealed that Felix was killed by Oliver, who poisoned his bottle of champagne with a presumably lethal dose of cocaine.
Sir James Catton
Played by Richard E. Grant
He is the eldest husband of Lady Elspeth Catton, the father of Felix and Venetia Catton and the maternal uncle of Farley Start. James is quite eccentric and overly involved in his niche interests. Although he seemed to enjoy Oliver’s company during his long stay at Saltburn, after Venetia’s death, James asks Oliver to leave, fearing that he would become too close to his wife. He eventually paid off Oliver and lived for several more years until he died of natural causes at an unknown age, leaving the Saltburn estate in Elspeth’s name.
Lady Elspeth Catton
Played by Rosamund Pike
She is the youngest wife of Sir James Catton, the mother of Felix and Venetia Catton and the maternal aunt of Farley Start. Although she falsely claims that she “never wanted to know anything”, Elspeth is incredibly curious and often prying into other people’s affairs, insisting that “absolutely nothing shocks her” . Even though Elspeth claims to be compassionate, she manipulates and judges people behind her back.
Having lost two children and her husband, Elspeth remains the last of the Catton line in Saltburn. Years after the deaths of Felix and Venetia and shortly after the death of James, Elspeth, seemingly by chance, meets Oliver. She invites him to return with her to Saltburn, where they spend the last months of his life together. Under unknown circumstances, she becomes seriously ill and falls into a coma, but does not have time to leave the Saltburn estate to Oliver in his will. After telling a comatose Elspeth about the evil plan he’s been hatching all along, Oliver deactivates Elspeth’s life support system, effectively killing her and inheriting the Saltburn estate.
Venice Catton
Performed by Alison Oliver
Venetia Catton is the only daughter of Sir James and Lady Elspeth Catton, as well as the only sibling of Felix Catton, although it is unclear whether Venetia or Felix is older. Venice smokes and drinks a lot, suffers from bulimia and various mental disorders. Despite her family’s wealth, she looks like a disheveled party girl: smeared makeup, visible roots, and chipped nail polish. Judging by her sometimes unstable behavior and her mother’s cruelty, Venetia has fairly low self-esteem.
When, after Felix’s death, Oliver approaches Venetia, who is sitting drunk in the bathtub, a tense fight ensues between them. Shortly after, Venetia is found dead, apparently committing suicide by cutting her wrists and bleeding in the bathtub. Oliver later reveals that he placed the blades on the bathtub and likely cut her wrists himself, although he may have simply pushed her over the edge until she broke him. do it herself.
Departure Farleigh
Played by Archie Madekwe
Farley Start is the nephew of Sir James and Lady Elspeth Catton, and the cousin of Felix and Venetia Catton. Farley studies at Oxford with Felix and Oliver and lives with the Cattons in Saltburn. According to Felix, Farley “practically grew up with” the Cattons. However, unlike the Cattons, Farley is American and mixed race, which sometimes creates unspoken tension between them. James began paying for Farley’s education because he felt guilty about depriving Farley’s mother of financial support, although Felix claims that Farley had already been expelled from “nearly every school in England”.
Farley does not like Oliver and does not approve of his stay in Saltburn. After being caught trying to sell valuable plates at Sotheby’s, Farley is kicked out of Saltburn, although it is later revealed that Oliver framed him. After Farley returns, Oliver frames him again, this time for Felix’s overdose. Oliver suggests that Farley supplied Felix with cocaine, from which he eventually died, and Farley is banished from the Saltburn estate and the Cotton family forever. He may have returned to his mother in America, but this has not been confirmed.
Frederica Start (née Catton)
Never appears on screen
Frederica Starte is the sister of James Catton, the sister-in-law of Lady Elspeth Catton, the mother of Farley Starte and the paternal aunt of Felix and Venice Catton. Frederica is mentioned several times in the film Saltburn, but never appears on screen. Like the rest of the Cattons, Frederica was something of a local celebrity due to her family’s wealth, as evidenced by Farley and Professor Oliver’s admiration for her despite never having met.
At the age of 19, Frederica fled to America to “escape the cold hearts of the English” and ended up “marrying a madman”, according to Felix. Frederica’s husband apparently spent all of her money and “a good portion” of James’ money, after which James withdrew his financial support. Frederica still lives somewhere in America, and Farley claims she can’t pay her bills and will “soon be living in squalor” while the Cattons will live in luxury. It is unclear whether she or Farley inherited the Cattons’ wealth after their mutual deaths at the end of Saltburn.
