Margot Robbie wasn’t shocked by Saltburn’s bathtub scene

Saltburn spoilers follow.

Saltburn producer Margot Robbie has revealed she wasn’t shocked by the film’s controversial bathtub scene.

Emerald Fennell’s psychological thriller follows Oliver (Barry Keoghan) as he travels to his university friend Felix’s (Jacob Elordi) sprawling family estate, Saltburn, with deadly consequences.

Before the film’s final scene, where clothing is optional, Saltburn takes several detours to confuse the audience along the way. One such instance is when Felix enjoys some “alone time” during a bath, with Oliver vacuuming the remains of his bath water out of the tub after Felix leaves.

Related: Sophie Ellis-Bextor recreates the Saltburn dance scene

While the scene shocked audiences, it appears that Barbie star Margot Robbie, one of the film’s producers through her production company LuckyChap Entertainment, did not have the same reaction.

Speaking to Variety, Robbie said: “It didn’t seem that jarring in the script, because Emerald immerses you in a world so quickly. She has such a good handle on the tone and the plot; she pulls you into it so quickly – you’re just immediately like, “I’m in this world.”

“So by the time you get to something like the bathtub scene, she’s prepared you for it. She’s got you. You’re picking at a scab. You’re like, ‘I can’t help myself.’ prevent it’. Or like popping a pimple: ‘I know I shouldn’t squeeze but I’m going to do it’.”

Related: Barry Keoghan improvised the Saltburn funeral scene

Robbie added: “I think there’s something intentionally disgusting and satisfying about where you arrive in Saltburn.

“I think (Emerald) wanted you to be as disgusted as you are titillated, and as shocked as you are by discovering this depravity in yourself. It gets into your brain and it sort of taps into the most depraved parts of your being. so that you are complicit in history.”

Elordi himself recently shared his own reaction to reading the scene for the first time.

“I was really, really excited when I read that scene, because… you don’t really see things like that in mainstream movies… most of the time,” he said.

“So it’s just awesome that Emerald was allowed to push those boundaries and expose people like that.”

Saltburn is now available to stream on Prime Video.

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