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Sometimes Salvation
USA 2015
produced by Annette Duffy, Chris McAninch for Global View Productions
directed by Thor Moreno
starring Preshia Paulding, Shawn McAninch, Ian Harrison, Annette Duffy, Lindsy Darland, Mary Bricker, Warren Westlund, James Lukenbill jr, Lonnie Appleby, Karen Schaeffer, Jimmy Olsen, Katy Merryman, Daniel Selby, Alyssa Nichols, Maxwell Schaeffer, Wes Worthing, Jessica Schlingman
written by Thor Moreno, music by Diane Foster (II), Thor Moreno, Pat McMurray, Tim Grant, Corby Yates Band, David Fesliyan, Elise Melinand
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Cop Dusty (Shawn McAninch) sees his mother slowly dying from cancer.
There might be a cure of course, but it costs a fortune, way too much for
his income as a cop to pay. So he borrows money from a crime kingpin ...
but despite the best treatment, the wife still dies, and Dusty sees
himself in debt - so much so that, to not have to work for the underworld
to pay off every penny he borrowed, he decides to blackmail nurse Mandy
(Annette Duffy), who has started to steal drugs and sell them to those she
thinks in need - out of compassion at first, but eventually, it became a
business. Teacher Kelsey (Preshia Paulding) has much in common with
Dusty, she has lost her husband to cancer, and the grief she felt has
hooked her on narcotics she gets from Mandy. Then Mandy is found shot
dead, and Kelsey wants to turn her life around by helping a student of
hers, Evan (Ian Harrison), back on the right track.There are several
problems with this though: Evan is the son of Dusty's girlfriend (Lindsy
Darland) - and Dusty is treating mother and son like shit of late -, and
it was actually Dusty who shot Mandy, and even if it actually was a freak
accident, there's a lot at stake for Dusty. And what's making things
worse, Kelsey was the last who saw Mandy alive - in a car with Dusty ... Basically
structured like a thriller, Sometimes Salvation is in fact a
multi-layered story about guilt and redemption that shows the world is
more than black and white and doesn't offer any simple answers to complex
problems ... because there most of the time are none. That said, the whole
film works perfectly well as a thriller still, there's suspense and
surprises aplenty, director Thor Moreno knows how to keep things tense,
and the cast is top notch. I might have to warn you though, the film is
(due to its subject matter) a bit on the depressing side, so don't confuse
it with a party movie, but if you're ready for something more sad, serious
and thought-provoking, this is definitely one to watch!
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