My quick rating – 4.3/10. Stuck in a dreary black-and-white world that matches his mood, Saul (Ryan Schafer) has one goal before turning 27—lose his virginity or check out of life entirely. That is our setup for Sincerely Saul, and nothing screams “date material” like a countdown to suicide, right? Director Ian Tripp takes us on this monochrome misadventure through the miserable milestones of a socially inept man-child, all while Grandma’s bedridden commentary provides the most consistent emotional support in the film.
We open with Saul’s botched suicide attempt—basically the film saying, “Hey, buckle up, this ride is equal parts cringe and pity.” It immediately brought to mind Better Off Dead, except instead of John Cusack’s charm, we get Saul’s thousand-yard stare of confusion. The movie is structured like a journal of misery: day after day, Saul sulks, sighs, and awkwardly avoids human interaction. He’s like a sad Charlie Brown if Charlie Brown gave up on finding happiness and decided to live in an A24 student project.
Amber Grayson’s Joni deserves credit for giving the only believable reactions in the movie—her constant “why am I here?” face mirrors the audience’s own. The humor tries, it really does, but you can almost hear it groaning from the effort. There’s an attempted meet-cute, a scene with a Luchador that telegraphs its disappointment miles away, and a slow-burn meltdown that you’d hope ends in glorious chaos. Spoiler: it doesn’t. Not even a little bloodshed for the horror fans among us. And no, Saul doesn’t sprout wings and fly to Iceland, though at this point that might’ve been a mercy.
Instead, we get tantrums, awkward silences, and one fever dream of a scene that features what looks suspiciously like a giant head monster. Sadly, that’s as close as this movie gets to horror. The black-and-white cinematography is a neat stylistic choice—like frosting on a stale cake—but it can’t disguise the fact that nothing much happens beyond emotional implosion and secondhand embarrassment.
Still, buried under the weirdness are some funny beats and oddball ideas (I’m looking at you, forest fire subplot that goes nowhere). It’s an indie experiment with flashes of promise—like Saul himself, it keeps waiting for something better to happen but never quite gets there.
I thought it was too depressing to be funny, too weird to be touching, and too slow to be thrilling. But if you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when existential dread meets forced humor, Sincerely Saul has you covered.
And seriously—thanks to Dan Butler for sending over the screener. I’ve seen worse. (Trust me, I’ve seen worse.)
