At this point, the prospect of watching a film about an aging boxer whose life has hit the skids sounds as appealing as getting into the ring with Oleksandr Usyk. It’s the sort of well-trod cinematic territory that feels overly familiar, and the title, Salvable, does not exactly inspire hope. Fortunately, co-directors Bjorn Franklin and Johnny Marchetta’s debut feature proves better than its synopsis suggests. While the film doesn’t chart any particularly new territory, it benefits greatly from Franklin’s subtle screenplay and performances infusing it with emotional power that sneaks up on you.
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The sort of gritty, realistic drama that frequently emerged from England in the early ‘60s, the story set in Wales revolves around Sal (Toby Kebbell, the film’s real star, despite Shia LaBeouf’s prominence in the marketing), whose successful boxing days are well behind him. Although he still trains at night under the watchful tutelage of his old trainer Welly (James Cosmo), his days are spent working at a nursing home, where his gently compassionate treatment of its elderly residents speaks volumes about his character.
Salvable
Living in a trailer parked in a field and reduced to having sex in his car with his girlfriend, the divorced Sal has a difficult relationship with his teenage daughter Molly (Kila Lord Cassidy), who’s still angry over his previous neglect. His bitter ex-wife (Elaine Cassidy) won’t let him see Molly outside of specified times, and his legal efforts to get joint custody are rejected. Things go from bad to worse when he loses his job at the nursing home after having to leave suddenly to deal with a school emergency involving Molly.
Films with this sort of subject matter often feature a character who’s a bad influence. In this case, it’s Sal’s old friend Vince (LaBeouf), with whom he has a checkered past. Vince, whose propensity for troublemaking is instantly signaled by his bleach blond dye-job, has just been released from prison. He resumes his former gig of organizing underground fights in which Sal, in desperate need of money, agrees to participate. But it doesn’t go well when Sal forfeits a bout rather than seriously injure his clearly inferior opponent.
“I’d have killed him!” he tells the frustrated Vince.
Sal attempts to resume boxing and reunite with Welly for “one last dance,” as the veteran trainer calls it. But he blows off the scheduled bout to join Vince in an ill-advised criminal venture that has fateful consequences.
The plot, as you can see, feels standard-issue. But it plays much better than that, thanks to incisive writing that elevates the proceedings beyond predictability. Sal’s relationship with his daughter proves more complex than it initially appears, especially in the quiet aftermath of a beautifully written scene in which he implores her school principal, an old friend, not to punish her for a transgression. And Vince emerges as more than a standard villain, demonstrating a genuine love for Sal that ultimately results in him making a tremendous sacrifice. LaBeouf, whose tabloid exploits have come to overshadow his talents, delivers a quietly commanding performance.
But it’s Kebbell — his extensive screen credits include Control, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Kong: Skull Island — who gives Salvable heart and soul. Never succumbing to the sort of histrionics to which a lesser actor might have resorted, he makes us care deeply about his troubled character, a man who keeps getting in his own way. His fine performance, and the atmospheric lensing of the Welsh locations, make the movie more than salvable.
