Sal

Released Nov 1, 2013

1h 32m

Drama

Biography

List

50%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

A dramatization spotlights the last day of actor Sal Mineo (Val Lauren), who was stabbed to death in an alley near his home after a play rehearsal.

Read More

Read Less

Peacock

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Sal on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Dan Callahan

RogerEbert.com

All we do is wait through uneventful hours with the protagonist until their foreordained death comes as a kind of finale and release.

Rated: 1.5/4

Nov 1, 2013

Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

AV Club

Despite its modest proportions and chilling finale, Sal is foremost an affectionate tribute, conjuring ample warmth out of relatively little.

Rated: B-

Oct 31, 2013

Full Review

Nick McCarthy

Slant Magazine

It functions under the delusion that subtext will magically appear if you linger on a character long enough, and the significance of most of its scenes is nothing if not inscrutable.

Rated: 1.5/4

Oct 30, 2013

Full Review

Mat Bradley-Tschirgi

Battleship Pretension

By focusing on one day in Sal Mineo's life, Sal feels more intimate than other biopics. The strong lead performance of Val Lauren as Sal Mineo provides a fascinating glimpse into the life...

Dec 8, 2020

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

While the subject is intriguing, Franco's amateurish rendering would make a marvelous film school project, one that's neither compelling nor as provocative as it thinks it is.

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

Stephen Saito

Moveable Fest

In other words, "Sal" is not all that different from most other films from directors fresh out of film school - ambitious, accomplished and with room to improve.

Dec 20, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

joanna b

Oh wow, where do I began. I thought the movie was okay, it was a little shallow to me, but then I think literary or cinematic attempts at biographies fall short unless the subject was known to the producer or writer. And, I believe James Franco was born in 1978, some two years after the tragic death of Sal. I guess it is a prejudice of mine though. I had the great gift of seeing Sal perform in Austin, Texas, in a play called Marathon 33 in 1975, a year before his death. He was an incredible actor and very underrated talent, I believe. To my 18 year old self, he was a kind, sweet man who spent some time talking to a girl who at that point wanted to be on stage myself. I was devastated at his death the next year and still feel badly for those who never saw the true Sal in a stage production. So, as far as the movie goes, it was okay, but I won't be watching again.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

l g

so bad it was good. watched the whole thing in one sitting (March 2021). even rewatched the last 15 minutes a month later. i like Indy films more than a little. this one is that, in spades. it just missed. i say that knowing full well it's better than any movie i could ever come up with. still, at least half of the movie just missed. for film school it gets the maker(s) an A++ and maybe even an internship. for wide release though...?

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I went with 2 stars for this movie, I only seen it once I might watch this movie again idk. I liked that James Franco was true to portraying Sal Mineo and portrayed him well. The actor that played Sal Mineo I think did a alright job. Slow at times but gets to the point. I also liked that at the end of the movie James Franco did a tribute to Sal Mineo and played a clip from Rebel without a cause. He also showed live/news from the night that Sal Mineo was murdered which was also included in the movie. Pretty good movie I think that James Franco means/meant well in his movie about Sal Mineo and his life etc... alright movie 2 stars.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

For better or worse, James Franco has done exactly what he promised with "Sal", a look at the actors last day before being murdered outside of his West Hollywood apartment building. The downside to this is that we get long scenes that portray the mundane and uninvolving moments of the day. But, some of those moments come across as more real because of this. Good performances help, as does some authentic sounding dialog. This could have turned out terrible, but it could have been a lot better as well.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I actually know quite little of twice Oscar nominated actor Sal Mineo -- other than his acting -- who starred in such films as Rebel Without a Cause, Exodus, Giant and The Longest Day. I was hoping that a film titled Sal might provide some additional information on the one-time star who arrived on the Hollywood scene with many lauded performances and much fanfare but whose star quickly descended as he became typecast and his open homosexuality prevented him from getting many leading man roles in the mid-to-late 1960s. James Franco directs this small film about the late actor and while it is apparent Franco wanted the film to be a tribute to Mineo there is little here one would be overly pleased with. Franco uses too many close-ups, he is obsessed with the male body -- the film opens with an overly long sequence of Sal (Val Lauren - Interior Leather Bar) working out shirtless and sweaty -- and there is simply no real story here at all. Sal is simply a filmed composite of the actor's final day of life ... he wakes up, works out, meets up with someone for lunch to discuss business, rehearses a new play etc. An audience never gets to discover who Sal is or dive into his personality or being. We see him move around and hear him talk (in close-up). There are a few -- like three too many -- scenes of Sal driving a car listening to the radio ... most likely because Franco and the film's screenwriter had no idea what to make Sal say. The film is most disappointing and after seeing this -- Franco's second directed film -- I hope he gives up his dreams of directing as he is much better (at times) in front of the camera. A film with Mineo's name should show us what made him special but this one doesn't. It is boringly bad ... and Plato deserved much, much, much better.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The (intentionally?) very consistent & lingering rawness as seen in every other Franco's production.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

James Franco

Director

Val Lauren

Sal Mineo

Jim Parrack

Keir Dullea

James Franco

Milton Katselas

Vince Jolivette

Billy Belasco

Trevor Neuhoff

Michael Mason

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

63%

58%

Howl

93%

85%

127 Hours

56%

56%

The Soloist

TRAILER

for The Soloist

5%

18%

The Color of Time

71%

70%

Bleed for This

TRAILER

for Bleed for This

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Interview: James Franco on Sal, James Dean and Gay Subculture

View more photos

Synopsis

A dramatization spotlights the last day of actor Sal Mineo (Val Lauren), who was stabbed to death in an alley near his home after a play rehearsal.

Director: James Franco
Producer: Richie Hill
Screenwriter: Stacey Miller
Distributor: Tribeca Film
Production Co: Rabbit Bandini Productions
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 1, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 17, 2014
Runtime: 1h 32m

Most Popular at Home Now