"Emerald Fennell IS the devil in the details!": Charli XCX shares essay on Saltburn

Charli XCX recalls her upbringing in Hertfordshire where she was "just out of reach of London". Searching for chaos, "I raised myself on a diet of MySpace, "Skins" and stick figure musicians with lopsided hair that I'd often read about in the NME". As many teenagers at the time, she says that her school friends were either "embracing Effy Stoneham as their idol... or positioning themselves as the polar opposite: Jack Wills wearing Hugo, or Sara types".

She reveals that "watching "Saltburn" therefore, left me triggered as I saw both of these realities collide in Emerald Fennell's semi-gothic, semi-Tumblr coded depiction of 2007."

Writers Praise 2023’s Best Screenplays: Charli XCX on 'Saltburn,' Guillermo del Toro on 'Maestro' and More https://t.co/QgCXRhcreI

— Variety (@Variety) December 20, 2023

"Emerald Fennell IS the devil in the details," Charli continues. "I’m not sure whether it was the reminder of Livestrong bands being the accessory of the moment, the reality that a lot of posh people are actually called Henry or the epic fail of the boy at the party frustratingly saying he’d been “chirpsing” his conquest all night to no avail, but Emerald’s flair for delicious specifics really transports the audience back to THAT time."

Praising the director even further, she recounts specific details of the film, including controversial scenes, and her knack for understanding "the moreishness of pop culture sprinkled with high art and explores the depth of emptiness in language with literal LOL results".