"A dirty retelling of an old Western concept with terrific performances""
Danish director Kristian Levring brings new life to an old concept, keeping in line with the classic Spaghetti Westerns, but with his writing and direction this isn’t a Western as such, and more of a European noir film that focus on the migrants who set up a new life in the proverbial Land of Dreams.
The Salvation is about Jon (Mads Mikkelsen), an ex-Danish soldier living in America. When he welcomes his wife and son to their new home, their happy reunion is all too brief when outlaws intercept their stagecoach and things take a decidedly grim turn when they sexually assault his wife and murder his son, where upon all hell breaks loose.
Levring has done a brilliant job when paying tribute to the genre whilst not getting lost in the beautiful wilderness. With a great cast he brings to life a revenge and retribution story with Mikklesen playing the charismatic lead. In a film that’s not dialogue heavy, the actor's steely eyes tell more of the story than words ever could. The same can be said about Eva Green, who does not speak a word in this movie. Her face says a thousand words and a possesses a scorning glare of outrage in her eyes, however, she is sadly reduced to nothing more than a sex object/ love interest, but this is possibly more of an era problem than the scripting and directorial one.
The Salvation goes along at a fast pace despite its lack of words and final showdown is as violent and as it is thrilling, and rather gruesome to watch. It does, however, feel a bit slow and it loses its momentum as it goes on.
Verdict: A dirty retelling of an old Western concept with terrific performances from Mikkelsen and Green in a tale of murder and revenge.
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