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there are SO. MANY. moments where one of the Saltburnites are telling him like “you don’t belong here” “this is our place and not yours!” “stranger fucking danger” etc…. the patriarch of the Cattons literally paid Oliver to gtfo from their lives too

anyway the Cattons love whimsical things!! This is sort of playing off an analysis done by @/ artichokemami on tiktok, where they point out the styling of "poor dear Pamela". Specifically how her outfit has like a high frilly collar, her hair is like bright red and has blunt bangs, her eyebrows look really crazy etc etc. This sort of circus thing is also reflected in the Catton Players. They just love silly whimsical objects and people (even tho that ends up being their downfall).

This next bit is more of a theory in development so very open to discussion and or rebuttal:

This ties back into the Catton Saviour Complex a lot of people have been discussing here. Like poor dear Pamela was a part of the circus and the Cattons "rescued" her, although she was a much more literal representation. It's like the same with Farleigh and Oliver but I reckon it's more hidden. Farleigh's mother running off was whimsical to the family/Oliver's parents being "drug addicts" was also very loopy cuckoo for them.

Part of the appeal of clownish things for the family is that they get to be the ones who save them from the circus. other people have previously discussed this more in depth and its like when the Cattons get bored, they move on quick!!!!!!!!! They WILL leave you for a more interesting spectacle if they find one!!!

The mirror motifs (like Oliver appearing in a fractured reflection or him appearing upside down, or even him punching the mirror) are a huge indicator of his manipulation. The fractured reflections represent his sort of ideas on how he’s going to manipulate (creating different identities for himself based on each person he interacts with; a helpless lamb for Felix, a gossip girl for Elspeth etc). Inverse mirrors also work in representing how he’s flipping the “natural order” of Saltburn as well as the class divide/capitalism. This might be a reach but I suppose you could link Oliver shattering the mirror to him shattering his appearance as the son of addicts living in squalor, idrk.

ALSO THE ROCK THING WAS SUCH DRAMATIC IRONY. When Oliver lies about his dad dying and they throw that rock for him but it lands ON THE BANK!!! what appears does not coincide with what is real and the rock is a veiled exposition for the audience!!!!!!!!!!!!

in a veeeeery obscure way I guess saltburn is like an inverse of Macbeth?? Both characters flip the natural order but the key difference is the heavens ruin Macbeth for it while Oliver achieves his kingdom with no consequences (emerald fennel was insane for the zadok the priest thing tho)