‘Salvable’ Review: An Emotional Tale That Leaves You Wanting More

Salvable follows Sal, aka “The Bull” (Toby Kebbell), an aging boxer slowly losing his love for the sport who is looking for purpose within his life and to restore his fractured relationship with his teenage daughter, Molly (Kíla Lord Cassidy). When one of Sal’s old friends, Vince (Shia LaBeouf), returns to town after getting released from jail, it leaves Sal in a tough spot. He must choose between falling back into the wrong crowd or remaining content in his small town, living his mundane life. Salvable is in theaters and on demand and digital on May 2.

This film does a nice job of showing the different aspects of life that Sal is struggling to find balance in. There is no primary problem that takes precedence over the others, they are all equally something he is concerned about. The opening scene of the film informs you that Sal lost an important fight and essentially never recovered from it. Kickstarting the loss of interest in it. He also struggles to maintain his relationship with his teenage daughter. It’s already hard enough raising a teenager, but it’s a whole other thing to balance when you don’t have primary custody of her. And the return of Vince ends up tying these problems together. It leaves Sal to question whether to be a good role model for his daughter to follow or if he should revert to his old ways to try to secure a future for her.

Toby Kebbell gives a great performance as Sal. His soft voice, especially when talking to Molly, lets you know he is kind, and makes you surprised when you see the “bull” come out when he’s in a match. There is a shift in how he moves, but he still won’t go too far to seriously hurt someone. There is never really a time you are not rooting for him because he feels so genuine in his desires. While watching, it makes you wonder how someone like him got mixed up with someone like Vince, as they are vastly different in how they look at life, and in turn, how they approach it. Sal sincerely cares about people. He cares about his daughter, of course, but he also cares for the residents at the nursing home he works at, his opponents inside and outside the ring, and even strangers. His earnestness is what allows his relationship with Molly to grow again. Shia LaBeouf did not disappoint in his third film in the last 5 years. His Irish accent sounds pretty good, and he delivers an emotional performance as Vince. Unlike Sal, Vince isn’t as believable. It feels like he has shady intentions the entire film, however, his relationship with Sal is believable. He genuinely cares for Sal, and wants him to take part in this boxing underworld scheme he has going on. Sal, however, does not want to gain the grit necessary to participate in an underground boxing ring. Upon his return to town, Vince tries to slowly corrupt Sal’s way of thinking and convince him that these acts will benefit him and Molly in the long run. And eventually, Sal is convinced, but it’s because of their bond that he is able to be convinced. He wants to believe Vince is looking out for him and cares for him, and it seems like in his own way, Vince does care. But the way he goes about it leads to consequences that leave you feeling empty by the end.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars

This film is emotional at all the right times. You connect with Sal almost right away, and genuinely hope he can make the right decisions because you can tell he is truly doing everything with the best of intentions. His connections with Welly, Molly and Vince are the driving force of the film, and allow you to resonate with Sal and his choices throughout.