Sophie Ellis-Bextor responds to Saltburn’s wild ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ scene
Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the wild use of “Murder on the Dancefloor” in Saltburn. (Amazon MGM Studios/Getty)
Sophie Ellis-Bextor has shared her thoughts on her hit song “Murder on the Dancefloor” being used in a key scene in Jacob Elordi’s new film, Saltburn.
Thriller Saltburn, which is out in select cinemas today (17 November), tells the story of seemingly working-class Oxford University student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) as he meets and befriends the upper-class Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi).
Felix invites Oliver to stay with his bizarre and enigmatic family – his mother Elsbeth (Gone Girl’s Rosamund Pike), father James (Can You Ever Forgive Me?’s Richard E. Grant), sister Venetia (Conversation With Friends’ Alison Oliver) and cousin Farleigh (Midsommar’s Archie Madekwe) – on their massive estate, Saltburn, over the summer.
Things swiftly turn sour, psychotic and potentially fatal.
In one of the film’s best and most climactic scenes, one of the leading characters (no spoilers here) dances around the Saltburn estate completely naked, as the beloved Sophie Ellis-Bextor bop plays.
During a broad conversation with PinkNews about drag, Alyssa Edwards, and her Christmas Jumper Day collaboration with Save The Children and Chinti and Parker, Ellis-Bextor took a moment to reflect on the wild moment in Saltburn.
“I really loved the movie. It’s funny because whenever you get asked about having a song involved in something, you always get a tiny synopsis or rough idea of placement.
“So, I’d roughly read something about how it was going to be used – I hadn’t obviously got the full scope of the storyline up to that point,” she explained.
“I just thought it was brilliant. It’s so beautifully shot. The script is bouncy and fun and sharp and witty, and then you get someone dancing full frontal nude to my song,” she laughed.
“I can’t wait for more people to see it. It’s quite an unexpected moment.”
Earlier this week, Ellis-Bextor performed the song at the Saltburn premiere in Los Angeles, and afterwards told fans: “Now go and watch the film and tell me if you can ever hear Murder on the Dancefloor the same way again…”
For many fans who have already seen the movie, the “Murder on the Dancefloor” scene has been described as an absolute highlight.
One viewers said that the film will “forever alter the cultural memory” of the song, while another said they will “never listen to ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ the same way again”.
When asked whether she’d be pleased to see a ‘Murder on the Dancefloor” renaissance à la Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” moment in Stranger Things, Ellis-Bextor added: “OK, sure! Happy to be dining out on it, as long as I can, quite frankly.”
During an exclusive interview with PinkNews, Saltburn director Emerald Fennell declared that the film is “absolutely” queer.
“This is a film entirely about desire, and that desire takes every conceivable manifestation, and it’s so important. Yeah, of course, [queerness is] part of the very fabric of the film,” she shared.
Saltburn is out in select cinemas on 17 November and all cinemas on 24 November.
