THE STORY – Danny, an overly confident man in his late twenties, pursues a career as a life coach, promising riches and influence. But deeply in debt and increasingly desperate, Danny finds himself enticed into reckless schemes to keep the lights on and the illusion intact.
THE CAST – Liam Harkins, Stephen McMillan, Kathleen McDermott, and Conor McCarron
THE TEAM – Tom Nicoll (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 91 Minutes
There’s no more shared human desire than the urge to improve ourselves. In the ever-unsatisfactory state we find ourselves in, we’re constantly changing every aspect of our existence: weight, lifestyle, careers. Whether that longing to evolve stems from insecurity or genuine necessity, it’s a journey many struggle with alone. That’s why, in the ever-evolving landscape of predatory opportunists who scavenge the internet, even a foundational aspect of society’s evolution has become a way to make a profit.
That’s where the protagonist of Tom Nicoll’s “Salvation” comes into the fold. Liam Harkin’s Danny, a young Scottish man fresh off his mentorship retreat, is ready to bring the skills he’s learned into the real world. The skills in question are non-existent, born of the whims of self-help gurus who peddle courses to susceptible people in need of guidance. While sales are a major concern for these self-help guru types pushing these multi-level marketing schemes, Danny at least tells himself he’s doing this for others.
Nicoll’s feature debut, “Salvation,” uses the world of life coaches to deliver a character study of a troubled personality that embodies this cancerous enterprise, leeching from everyone around it. The screenplay builds Danny up as an ambitious individual willing to work to put his dreams into action. He personifies the change he’s willing to help others find. In reality, it’s merely a guise, as Nicoll’s screenplay finds the cracks in Danny’s persona that reveal the shattered image we, as the audience, are keyed into the entire time. This becomes even more evident as Danny’s course soon attracts the attention of Stephen McMillan’s Scott, a potential client who’s willing to take the right steps to escape his personal struggles. Their parasitic relationship becomes the catalyst for Danny’s spiral into maintaining his facade of success, mounting debts, and the desperation to keep his head above water.
“Salvation” is not only an assured freshman feature, but one that is tightly wound, gradually building audience frustration as Danny’s actions begin to catch up with him. Nicoll’s direction allows Harkins to flourish as a performer as we absorb how lived-in this character feels. Harkins’ ability to somehow win audiences over like the poor fools who fall for his coaching program is a testament to the quality of his performance and Nicoll’s screenplay. It’s a tough ask for Harkins to keep it as reigned in as he does, only allowing himself to display his true nature in flashes that build over the course of the film’s concise runtime. There’s an everyman quality in the performance that makes Danny feel eerily reminiscent of this type of young louse who falls for these falsities and shares them with others.
McMillian, who also delivers strong work, succeeds because the dynamic between him and Harkins’s character leads to some of the most contentious moments of “Salvation.” Danny’s endless jargon about convincing young people to improve their social status certainly appeals to someone as misguided as Scott. Yet what Scott believes is a relationship born of purity slowly mutates into something that genuinely affects him. McMillan captures that susceptible tragedy that gives the film an emotional heft. A needed touch that balances how shameless Danny becomes the more he loses control of his life.
“Salvation” could’ve been a far heavier-handed sermon on the misguidings of men hawking these scams and the victims who suffer from them. Instead, Nicoll focuses on all the faults, failures, and even loneliness that could make a character like Danny, creating a riveting drama whose excitement blends perfectly with its subtlety. Technically, Nicoll’s direction is handsomely assembled as Alex Grigoras’ cinematography captures the sleepy Scottish energy that occasionally brims with the flair of Danny’s persona. Nicoll’s visual eye is as in tune with his precise cuts as Raluca Petre’s editing keeps “Salvation” from feeling too drawn out. There’s never a moment when the delineation of Danny’s plans exasperates the audience.
Even if “Salvation” ultimately builds to an expected result, it still feels earned all the way to the film’s final moments. It’s an exciting debut at a time when topics like toxic masculinity and the ever-growing cesspool of online personalities using their charisma for profit seem to be on a lot of filmmakers’ minds. It’s doubtful that many will be able to land the plane as Nicoll does here. “Salvation” makes for a gripping watch that, in the end, makes you thankful you turned out okay in the grand scheme of things.
