41
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 67The A.V. ClubBen KenigsbergThe A.V. ClubBen KenigsbergDespite its modest proportions and chilling finale, Sal is foremost an affectionate tribute, conjuring ample warmth out of relatively little.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungThe Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungWhile this heartfelt, rough-edged tribute to now largely-forgotten Hollywood actor Sal Mineo isn’t without interest, it’s too small-scale and sketchy.
- 50Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlA stubbornly not-bad character study.
- 40VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangWhile Sal means to honor its subject, it’s too clunky and amateurish to really illuminate him.
- 40The DissolveNathan RabinThe DissolveNathan RabinSal is so inconsequential, it barely exists. It seems possible that even Franco has forgotten it, in order to make room in his memory for the 74 similar projects he was pursuing around the same time.
- 40Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenLos Angeles TimesSheri LindenFranco seems torn, on the one hand presenting his subject as a likably ordinary, self-involved actor and on the other sanctifying him as a would-be gay icon in a conformist industry.
- 38Slant MagazineNick McCarthySlant MagazineNick McCarthyIt 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.
- 38RogerEbert.comRogerEbert.comThe film ends with footage of his corpse on the sidewalk, and then a scene from "Rebel." From the first footage of the newscast on Mineo's death to this last tasteless film of his body lying in the street, nothing much has been learned about Mineo.