The Salvation - Cinema Review

The modern western seems like a starved genre these days and whilst The Salvation has all the classic Wild West moments, there are some touches that could only be achieved these days and help set the film apart. It's a very simple, straightforward revenge story expertly told. Much like John Wick, it's streamlined and compact refraining from spoon-feeding the audience but ensuring all the information is present for those paying attention. I appreciate any film that treats its audience with a degree of respect, not having to blatantly spell everything out and knowing when to hold your tongue is more powerful than to flap it.

A likeable protagonist, a strong motivation, an abhorrent villain and all the appropriately placed tension, stakes and mystery are all solidly set up. There is plenty of quite brutal suffering too, which while i'm not overly familiar with the western genre, seems like a staple that in this case perfectly suits the film's tone and intentions.

Mads Mikkelsen and Eva Green provide intensely strong performances with none of the supporting cast falling too far behind. Dialogue is sparse and purposeful, befitting the film's atmosphere and in Eva Green's case she manages monologue's-worth of emotion without ever uttering a word. Mads Mikkelsen also doesn't miss a beat in his portrayal of a father, husband, immigrant and solider, trying to escape a world of violence only be drowned in it and its vicious repercussions.

There isn't much immediately obvious in the way of deeper moral messages other than the standard "to kill a monster you must become a monster" and the reinforcement that no one can just live peacefully in the wild west but the ending leaves a bit more to the imagination. Amibigious but somehow also classic, it lets you ruminate and speculate on the post-film plot given what we've seen of the characters so far.

Perhaps i should write an article on the difference between "predictable" and "classic" because they're almost synonymous but generally used within opposing sentiments. The Salvation has all the classic western tropes but for whatever reason they didn't feel tired and cliched to me. I confess slightly breaking my rule of not looking at other reviews before writing my own but it seems many people found the story overall caricature rather than classic. I suppose i should address that as a possible downfall despite not experiencing it myself.

Visually the film is quite beautiful to watch contrasting its grim subject matter. From the framing to lighting to the art design, a great many moments could be frozen as snapshots and put up in a gallery somewhere, which is part of how i believe modern technologies can refresh old stories and genres. The dusty, dry deserts, the sweltering sun and sand, the silver moonlight in the grey-blue dark of night, down to little details like old dried bloodstains on the wooden walls are all portrayed perfectly and build an immersive real world which for a century long past in a country I've never visited, is impressive.

The backgrounds and more complex shots show their CGI influence a little too clearly but much of the film appears to be practical sets where possible and the costume design is both authentic, functional and memorable. The Salvation does very little new but it does everything you'd want perfectly. For dark, lean, Wild West action that doesn't outstay its welcome, this film is exactly that polished to a high finish.

Although "Polish" is probably the wrong word, I mean...he's clearly Danish...