Everyone talks about the bathtub. You know the one. The slurping. The drain. The "boy dinner" memes that took over TikTok for three months straight. But if you're only focused on the bathwater, you're missing the most devastating moment in the entire film.
Alison Oliver is the secret weapon of Saltburn. While Barry Keoghan is doing his best "talented Mr. Ripley" impression and Jacob Elordi is being effortlessly golden, Oliver’s Venetia Catton is the one actually holding the emotional weight of the story. Her big moment—the other bathtub scene—is where the movie finally stops being a romp and starts being a tragedy.
Why the Venetia Bathtub Scene is the Movie’s Real Core
Context matters. By the time we get to Venetia’s final confrontation with Oliver, the Catton family is already fractured. Felix is dead. The "toys" are broken.
Venetia is sitting in the same tub where Felix earlier... well, you know. She’s drunk, she’s grieving, and she’s the only person in that house who actually sees Oliver for what he is. Honestly, it’s chilling. She calls him a "moth." Not a beautiful one, either. Just a gray, dusty thing tapping against the light until it burns.
She tells him he "ate Felix up." She says he licked the plate. It’s a meta-commentary on the audience's obsession with the shock scenes, but it’s also a biting indictment of Oliver's parasitical nature.
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The Performance Nobody Appreciates Enough
Alison Oliver plays this with a sort of jagged, brittle energy. You’ve seen her in Conversations with Friends, where she was all soft edges and quiet longing. Here? She’s a mess of bleached hair extensions and smudged eyeliner.
The way she delivers that monologue is pitch-perfect. She isn't just a "rich girl" trope. She’s someone who has been used to being the least important person in the room her whole life. Her mother, Elspeth (played by a wonderfully detached Rosamund Pike), casually weaponizes Venetia’s eating disorder at the dinner table like she’s discussing the weather.
When Oliver "cares" for her earlier in the film—the infamous "vampire" scene—it isn't love. It’s a tactic. He uses her vulnerability as a skeleton key to get deeper into the family’s good graces.
What Actually Happened in the "Vampire" Scene?
Let’s be real for a second. The scene in the garden is one of the most polarizing moments in 2020s cinema. Oliver finds Venetia outside his window. She’s looking for attention, for someone to make her feel like she isn't invisible.
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Oliver knows she’s on her period. He doesn't care. In fact, he leans into it. This is where the "vampire" nickname for the scene comes from. It’s messy. It’s graphic. It’s meant to make you squirm.
But look at Oliver’s face during it. He isn't looking at Venetia. He’s looking at the house. He’s looking at the power he’s gaining. For Venetia, it’s a moment of supposed intimacy; for Oliver, it’s just another box checked on his way to the top of the stairs.
The Tragic Reality of Venetia Catton
Most people assume Venetia’s death was a simple suicide driven by grief. But if you watch closely, the movie suggests something much more sinister.
Oliver is the one who leaves the razor blades on the edge of the tub. He doesn't have to push her. He just has to give her the tools and the silence. He waits. He’s patient.
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The next morning, the visual of the wine-dark water in the tub is a haunting echo of the red wine they’ve been drinking all summer. It’s the end of the party. The high is over.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going back to Saltburn (or watching it for the first time because you saw a clip on Reels), keep these things in mind:
- Watch the eyes: In every scene between Oliver and Venetia, Oliver is almost always looking past her. He's surveying the room, checking for witnesses, or eyeing the furniture.
- The "Toy" Metaphor: Venetia explicitly calls herself one of Felix’s toys. Pay attention to how the "toys" in the house are treated—from the puppets to the people.
- The Wardrobe: Venetia’s clothes get progressively more "cheap" looking as the movie goes on. Her hair gets more matted. It’s a visual representation of her losing her grip as Oliver tightens his.
Alison Oliver’s performance is the bridge between the movie’s absurdist humor and its pitch-black heart. Don't let the bathwater memes distract you from the fact that she’s the one who actually figured it all out—even if it was too late.
To fully appreciate the nuance, pay close attention to the sound design during her final bathtub monologue. The silence of the house is deafening, making her accusations feel like the only honest thing ever spoken within the walls of Saltburn. Look for the reflection of Oliver in the water before she dies; it's the last time we see his mask slip before he takes over the estate.