# A life coach with no answers

> Tom Nicoll's debut tracks a young Scottish striver selling confidence while his own life falls apart.
- Title: A life coach with no answers · Variety | Shortify
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: film, review, scotland, masculinity, social media, entertainment, culture, life, coach, answers, Variety
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/news/salvation-review-2-1236863013
- Author: Guy Lodge
- Published: 2026-09-15T21:57:32+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: film, review, scotland, masculinity, social media, entertainment, culture
## 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
## Key takeaway

Salvation works because Danny is not a symbol first. He is a scared, funny, painfully specific man chasing an online shortcut out of failure.