Pulpmovies Reviews

I have to admit that I found the animation style used in Saul Goodman a little misleading initially. It has a very strong video game aesthetic which, initially, led me to expect the rest of the film to retain the usual computer game trappings. Whether this piece of misdirection is intentional or accidental I don’t know, but it certainly sets the tone for what is to follow.

Saul Goodman is the story of a conversation. An elderly man and a student both miss a train out of Boston and find themselves stranded on a deserted station. As they wait for the next train, a conversation starts to develop – initially around the crossword the older man is trying to solve but progressing easily into a more general discussion.

It emerges that the older man is - or was, or claims to be – a political fixer for a presidential campaign and he has a few stories to tell. These stories sound increasingly implausible but, as the old man fleshes out his anecdotes – each of which is challenged, debunked or flatly disbelieved by the younger man - a larger conspiracy slowly starts to emerge.

The story structure of Saul Goodman is established quite quickly, with the older man’s tales told in flashback, and this is where the use of animation really comes into its own. Writer/director Jim Connell is able to effectively employ the sort of set design and special effects that would otherwise be impossible in any film that doesn’t come with a multi-million dollar price tag.

But there is also a more subtle use of the animation going on here as well. As I’ve already mentioned, the older guy’s anecdotes are, individually, less than convincing – all the little details that you would normally expect are either missing or vague and this is very nicely underscored visually.

But by this time, of course, my interest in the nature and style of animation had become very much secondary to the story, which becomes increasingly gripping as you find yourself slowly being drawn into the older man’s world and trying to fill in the blanks that are constantly being hinted at.

The characterisation is worth mentioning here. Saul Goodman is essentially a two-hander between two strangers and the fact that the conversation flows so smoothly and believably is a testament to both the scripting and the voice acting of John Cammarata and Eric Scheiner, both of whom manage to bring some real humanity to their roles.

Ultimately, Saul Goodman is a strongly written, creatively original and well made political thriller which finishes with a very effective twist. This is also a film that improves on repeated viewings and one that demonstrates that, regardless of the budget, a good story well told is always engrossing.

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