Sad Sal

“Sal” is sad. The imagined last day of Sal Mineo’s life, conceived, written and directed by James Franco, is nothing short of a headache… although many of you know that I have never had one, this movie came damn close to giving me one. Val Lauren is too young and ungifted for this role. It’s a stereotypical, plastic “I can talk Brooklyn-ese” failure. Praised in the press releases as a minimalist take on a tragic life, it portrays Mineo and those around him as shallow and smarmy. The camera work is another problem. It seemed always out of focus, jerky and faux-artsy. It is simply amateur in every way. I sat through the entire film because Franco was doing a Q&A after it. The theater was half reserved for his adoring sycophants and I left before he even opened his mouth. The picture below is not unlike the visual quality of the film.