Ultra gritty, Paul Schrader’s film is a bloodbath that targets the innocent. Recently out from parole, There Are No Saints revolves around a sicario who has to pay for his ugly past actions. He is known as “The Jesuit” due to his expertise in traditional torture methods as seen during the Spanish Inquisition. It is clichéd action but with brutal characters and an anti-establishment streak that makes it worthwhile. Women and children are not spared in this horror flick. The movie truly lives up to its name when almost everybody turns into a vile criminal.
Texas media outlets are shocked by the news that Jose Maria Yazpik aka Neto Niente aka The Jesuit of Mexico – the most infamous hitman – has been freed unconditionally from prison. The arresting officer admitted he planted evidence thus cancelling his death sentence. Carl (Tim Roth), Neto’s sleazebag lawyer, picks him up equipped with not only his passport but also a bag full of cash along with some serious warnings too about being extremely careful now that he isn’t caught yet at all costs; i.e., disappear forever from everyone’s sight right this minute or soon enough … No one wants anything but a corpse when it comes down to law enforcement agents and rival gang members.
But Neto doesn’t follow his attorney’s sound advice and must see Julio (Keidrich Sellati) before disappearing into thin air for good evermore. Nadia (Paz Vega) lets them get back together again since she really cares about their child’s future too much more than anyone else does: he keeps drawing pictures of Jesus Christ crucified having faith in everything said against him until proven otherwise wrong because deep inside himself there lies no room left for doubt anymore while looking straight towards heaven above where father will always be found waiting patiently forever more no matter what may happen next! She pleads once again with her ex-boyfriend; this time it’s different from previous cases since Vincent (Neal McDononough), a cold-hearted builder who wouldn’t tolerate his coming around for even one minute longer, is her current partner. And Neto is now on the run because Nadia and Carl were right all along as another old enemy (Ron Perlman) seeks revenge.
Very soon in There Are No Saints we see how Nick Niente lived up to his name. We go back to Neto as he slowly tortures people. Those scenes are very gory too by the way… Regret is what prison taught him yet he still has no remorse from his enemies’ side which just cannot forgive him at all under any circumstances whatsoever; therefore, The Jesuit must constantly protect himself against multiple assailants attacking him all over again! Shredding some baddies with his bare hands was how he took them out during some bone crushing action. And so Neto got beaten up quite often too. For these sins, he pays dearly now.
Usually I would complain about shallow characters that have only one dimension.This supporting cast serves a purpose through their limited dialogue here. Vincent also kills without feeling anything like Neto does when anyone gets into his path regardless of who they are because there is no profound understanding within him which gives rise to nuance in characterization either unlike others such as Inez (Shannyn Sossamon), who falls for Neto and risks saving his life or “sticking by my man” kind of attitude representing her reckless nature while avoiding higher goals in going away somewhere else outside American society where self preservation means nothing compared with bloodshed for sake fun money lust enjoyment -which may be taken slightly beyond limits thrown overboard unapologetically created under complete suspension of disbelief.
Paul Schrader has always been fascinated by dark figures, having written movies like Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull before this film. Neto’s actions are what one should expect from him. There Are No Saints is about Julio’s wrong view of his dad. This monster wears the robes of The Jesuit. Schrader’s biggest mistake in making the screenplay was not making his main character more intelligent. Neto rushes into situations that ought to require careful observation and silent moves. That’s a little thought from someone who is an inexorable instrument of truth extraction through merciless efficiency
The final act of There Are No Saints is punishing. This shows the movie’s to and fro mood. Strong scenes, however, balance out plot issues. Here, Schrader eschews politeness as he becomes savage and uses language that is vulgar. The film contains several racial and religious slurs. While There Are No Saints caters to a specific audience not easily offended, it gets a recommendation for hitting hard on every front.
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