Luck is a nasty pal. Actor Liam Harkins plays the poisonous snake and shaky ladder of his own life with utmost belief, clinging to delusion as his only anchor in the TIFF Discovery selection Salvation.
TIFF Discovery is a quiet enigma — each film a sealed letter, its surprise unknown. The more it holds back, the more it pulls you in. This year’s entry by Tom Nicoll isn’t just mysterious, it unearths the crowded dreams we bury inside. And when they escape, the ground begins to shake.
Danny Carlton steps into the room with a dream — to be a life coach, to shape lives. He is told he might have the focus, the words, but not the fire. He believes in his commandments, his vision. Encouragement comes, but not certainty. Where does a man go with no ground beneath him? Is he just reaching through the straw?
The film’s central point appears to be an interrogation of neo-positivity — a concept many have been misled by. It critiques the seductive but ultimately hollow belief that motivational positivity alone ensures a flourishing life, a premise that remains deeply questionable in the contemporary era. The film spans life coaches and vulnerabilities, the whole arc from birth to death. Overconfidence sinks its fangs, and even the best-laid plans have thorns. That’s the speech, the formula — words shaped to sound like truth, while the speaker thinks they hold the game in their hands. The central limitation is that not everyone can occupy such a role. The director quietly emphasises what is often overlooked — the intricate nature of human cognition, which cannot be addressed through uniform, algorithmically driven responses. Technique breathes beneath the words, and confidence, unchecked, becomes a blindness that starts from within. The film delves us deeper into the illusions it has formed — talent takes a certain gift, a physical knowing that not all possess. Some roles demand a particular presence, and those like Carlton may slip into the hollow of their own illusions.
The film questions the voice inside — is advice ultimately true, or does it deceive? What happens when the gut and the world don’t align? Is it a psychological game to make us believe in a good end? Is taking advantage of others a form of neo-positivity? Is false motivation a daylight scam that exploits psychology? And even if it works, is it really a victory? And then there’s debt, shortcuts, characters like Carlton — searching for a way out. It carries the pulse of Uncut Gems, the spiral of Lucky Lu, where one descends to the deepest point and the universe breaks. Desperation leaves its mark on everyone close — and is that the fall we’ve been waiting for? Meanwhile, the score by Salla Luhtala is orchestral and unrelenting, reminding us how sound can lift a film into something electric, almost a masterstroke. Besides, actor Liam Harkins deserves recognition for his richly layered, deeply substantive performance.
TIFF’s Salvation shatters the false beliefs we carry — each note landing where it should. It puts us in the driver’s seat, facing ugly truths and the weight of struggle in the dark. It’s a film about modern financial despair, where risk leaves normality far behind, inflation rises like a wall, darkness hides the path, and luck is a thin thread. We all carry trouble in our own way, yet our limits differ. Push past them, and we tilt in the wrong direction, and the weight becomes something that could shatter. So we’re left asking — how much does trust really cost? Maybe it’s not something you can put a number, or a motivation, on.
The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) runs September 10–20, 2026
