From Variety · Guy Lodge · · 1m 30s
A life coach with no answers
Tom Nicoll's debut tracks a young Scottish striver selling confidence while his own life falls apart.
In brief
Tom Nicoll's debut tracks a young Scottish striver selling confidence while his own life falls apart. Salvation works because Danny is not a symbol first. He is a scared, funny, painfully specific man chasing an online shortcut out of failure. Originally reported by Variety.
Danny looks lost
Danny Carlton wants to look like someone who can guide others. Instead, his uncertainty gives him away before the story even starts.
“Danny is going nowhere, and just about everyone but him seems to know it”
Nicoll arrives strong
Tom Nicoll's first feature is praised as a controlled, sharp character study about a young man trapped by self-help promises and online male pressure.
“A quietly assured and impressive debut”
More than headlines
The film touches the manosphere, Gen Z anxiety and online image-making, but Danny is treated as a human mess, not a talking point.
“a perceptively drawn, tragically human character”
The retreat sells dreams
Danny learns from Marshall Allison, a life coach charging young men thousands to repeat empty lines about freedom, money and status.
“It kind of is.”
Home exposes the scam
Back in Greenock with a certificate, Danny tries to build a coaching business. Clients vanish, loans loom, and his confidence routine starts to buckle.
“some fakers are faker than others”
Harkins makes it hurt
Liam Harkins plays Danny with twitchy panic and forced swagger. Every glance shows a man who already senses he is failing.
“the terror of failure is written across Danny’s smooth, blokey face”
Closeups trap him
Nicoll and cinematographer Alex Grigoras keep Danny boxed in tight frames, echoing the front-facing camera he uses to sell himself online.
“tight, peering closeup”
Offline help has limits
Danny's mother Jackie offers warmth without illusion, but the script gives no easy rescue from the next fast-fix internet grift.
“There’s always another internet grift for someone looking to save himself fast”
Here's the gist
Salvation works because Danny is not a symbol first. He is a scared, funny, painfully specific man chasing an online shortcut out of failure.
