Salvation Boulevard: Heavenly or Hellish?

Hey there, film-loving folks! So, I spent last weekend watching “Salvation Boulevard,” and it’s got quite the mix of holy rollers and sharp satire. Directed by George Ratliff and starring big names like Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, and the one-and-only Jennifer Connelly, it promised quite the ride. And well, it didn’t quite deliver the divine revelation I hoped for.

You know, Brosnan plays this charismatic preacher – Dan Day – with a grin so slick it reminds me of a used car salesman I once met outside Ullared. The film paints him like a saint, but oh boy, there’s a whole lotta devilish dealings behind those pearly whites. Kinnear, on the other hand, gives us Carl, a gullible former Deadhead who’s just looking for some peace. It’s like seeing your buddy from the old ABBA days trying to fit into a punk band.

I gotta say, watching this movie felt like being in a Svenska kyrkan service, but instead of hymns, you get curveballs of murder cover-ups and philosophical debates. The script, by Douglas Stone and Ratliff, feels a bit all over the place, like trying to navigate the Stockholm archipelago during a foggy morning – you kinda lose your way.

There’s one scene where the congregation’s gathered, all fervor and zeal, which brought back memories of midsommar nights. The kind where singing “Små grodorna” around the maypole got a bit too spirited. Here, religion and reality clash with that same chaotic energy.

But you know, the film’s satire on fanaticism did get me thinking about how we tend to blindly follow ideals or ideologies—like when folks line up at 4 a.m. for ICA’s newest deal on surströmming. Maybe that’s the real gem here: questioning. Yet, I left wanting a deeper connection, kinda like expecting a full fika spread but only getting a kanelbulle and lukewarm coffee.

So, a mixed bag, this one. Not quite redemption-worthy, but interesting enough if you’re curious about the messy entanglement of faith and folly. Check it out, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find your own little moment of enlightenment between the laughs and the “oh, come on’s!”

Check the trailer below