Worth: $12.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Jose Maria Yazpik, Neal McDonough, Paz Vega, Shannyn Sossamon, Tim Roth, Ron Perlman, Brian Cox, Tommy Flanagan
Intro:
… pulpy exploitation flick …
There Are No Saints has had a tumultuous journey since production began almost a decade ago. Initially written and directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) under the banner of The Jesuit, and starring a pre-Star Wars Oscar Isaac, the film went through several changes before filming completed in 2014.
By then, while Schrader’s script remained, he had been moved to an executive producer credit, with a number of the roles farmed out to new actors. For those who already know all this, There Are No Saints is certainly going to pique their interest as to what became of this action thriller.
Directed by Alfonso Pineda Ulloa, the film stars Jose Maria Yazpik (Narcos) as Neto, a brutal hitman recently released from prison after a murder conviction is overturned. Back in society, Neto, known as the Jesuit to his enemies, has decided to hang up his spurs in pursuit of a quieter life. His former partner, Nadia (Paz Vega), now living with property developer/gangster Vincent (Neal McDonough), reluctantly allows Neto visitation rights to his son. That decision leads to things becoming demonstrably worse for Neto as, overwhelmed with jealousy that he is back in Nadia’s life, Vincent kills her before absconding with their young boy.
This is essentially a tale of revenge that in the final act, it could be argued, shares some DNA with Park Chan-Wook’s Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. With the help of a strip club bartender, Inez (Shannyn Sossamon), Neto blazes a violent and bloody path to reclaim his son.
When the violence kicks in, the director ensures you hear and see every snapped bone and bullet penetrating flesh. This is not the slickly produced chaos of the John Wick movies, however. When Neto steps into the ring, the scenes have all the visceral rage of a Robert De Niro trademarked curb stomping. At times, it can feel oppressive, as if the film is going out of its way to be nihilistic, with girlfriends being shot just to make the bad guys give up information of Vincent’s whereabouts.
However, that appears to be the true theme of the film with Neto shown to have not really changed in the ways he probably hopes he had. Like the men he’s up against, Neto has resigned himself to a life of bloodshed and growling. Violence begets violence, There Are No Saints shouts, and so it shall be for eternity. Come the film’s final scene, the audience is left to wonder if anyone has learnt anything from the whole bloody massacre.
Given the film’s protracted production, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there has been further tinkering behind the scenes since they called cut. A non-diegetic radio show fills in the blanks of Neto’s past in the opening, suggesting there used to be scenes that offered a show-not-tell approach. Equally, Tim Roth pops up for a couple of scenes in a cameo which ends with him literally say goodbye to the movie. His relationship with Neto, at the beginning, suggests a stronger bond than what’s presented on screen. It would be interesting to see how much the final product reflects Schrader’s, and then Ulloa’s, vision.
As an exploration of how someone can never escape their sins – which feels like the original intention given the film’s opening bible quote – then the film is somewhat wanting in that department. However, it garners more success as a pulpy exploitation flick, where men are exploitative, and women are there too. A curiosity of a film, There Are No Saints’ lack of morality is certainly not going to be everyone’s idea of a night in.
