Saul is one unlucky guy. He lives with his overbearing grandmother. He has no job. He gets no action with the ladies. And his point-and-click game won’t let him past a certain spot! After days on end going to group therapy, visiting private webcam sessions, and just living with his overall weirdness, Saul has some decisions to make. This is Sincerely Saul.
Stuck at home with his bedridden Grandma, Saul plans to kill himself on his 27th birthday if he doesn’t lose his virginity by then.
Sincerely Saul, IMDB
Poor Saul — all he wants is that sweet release! What he gets instead is a series of eccentric and freaky characters that end up actually adding substance to his life. Sincerely Saul at first glance is meant for a certain kind of person — one who may have issues like he does. But I think most would find that, behind the façade that he and the people around him put up, it’s quite a different story that we can empathize with.
First, Sincerely Saul‘s stylistic look is something I want to bring up because I think it adds quite a bit of texture to the film. Shot in black and white with a grainy look, Sincerely Saul feels part arthouse, part quirky retro vibe, part coming-of-age indie film; imagine Napoleon Dynamite with a death wish. Paired with 8-bit-style musical cues and soft background music, the movie allows viewers to look past the comedic elements and see the true drama of it all. A look behind the eyes, if you will.
Sincerely Saul is still a horror movie though, considering the many, many references of death. Saul himself has more than one attempt at taking his life, including hanging by a rope that unlatches from the ceiling and (halfway) slitting his wrist with a dull knife. His grandmother is actively dying, and Saul takes it upon himself to play violent games and send aggressive, threatening videos to his new friends. There’s no denying that Saul has his issues, but it’s played in a comedic way to lessen the blow.
Sincerely Saul may be a silly black-and-white flick filled with misogyny and strange characters, but if you look deeper, it has pockets of kindness. You may not be as socially awkward as Saul, but there’s probably been a time when you felt that nothing was going right. Saul’s demeanor screams of depression, self-loathing, and an extreme want for a human connection. While the wacky characters around him live and breathe the same debauchery as he does, they really find the connection between them all. Sincerely Saul is a movie that’s a bitter beginning, but turns into a smooth ride by the end.
Sincerely Saul is available on VOD tomorrow, September 29th!
