Rosamund Pike Says She Loved ‘Saltburn’ Because ‘Playing Shallow Is Fun’

In the twisted and kinky world of Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” British actress Rosamund Pike weaves her way through the likes of the scheming Barry Keoghan, the too-perfect Jacob Elordi and the studiously morose Carey Mulligan; Pike steals scenes but seems oblivious as she does it. As Lady Elspeth Catton, the none-too-bright but entirely glamorous matriarch of a family that lives in “Downton Abbey”-esque splendor in rural England. Pike flits and flirts through the grand halls without a care in the world, painting an indelible portrait of a woman who wears her shallowness like a shiny badge of honor.

From the start, Pike was eager to work with writer-director Fennell, and she admired the script about a young misfit (Barry Keoghan) and the eccentric, rich clan with whom he spends a summer.