I don’t know how I was churning out three reviews a day at one point. These days, it’s hard enough for me to find the time to sit through one movie, let alone three. Either way, I’m back with another review, this time it is for Oliver Stone’s star-studded crime thriller, U Turn.
Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) is on his way to Vegas to pay off a large debt to a very dangerous man, when his car breaks down. He makes his way to a garage and heads to town to kill some time, while the pain-in-the-ass mechanic fixes his ’64-and-a-half Mustang. It doesn’t take long for Bobby to dig himself into a deeper hole in this backwards town of Superior, AZ; he is held up during a grocery store robbery, loses all of his money, meets a beautiful stranger who happens to seduce him, although she is married… and this is only the beginning.
Packed with an extremely talented cast, this 1997 ‘film noir’ is entertaining as Hell and has a bunch of characters that you can’t help but love. Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Voight are almost unrecognizable as Darrell, the sneaky mechanic, and the town’s wise blind man, respectively. Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, and [a brief appearance by] Liv Tyler are also featured, but my favorite performances are executed by Claire Danes and Joaquin Phoenix, along with the films’ main attractions, Sean Penn and Jennifer Lopez. Claire Danes played Jenny, a southern belle trouble maker (who greatly reminded me of Anna Paquin’s Sookie Stackhouse), while Phoenix played her pugnacious boyfriend known as T.N.T. who loved to prove his toughness every chance he received, fighting with every man who Jenny ran into. They were only on screen for brief periods compared to the rest of the cast, but their impact on the film was immeasurable.
U Turn is an artsy film that doesn’t quite fit into any one genre. It’s a comedy, a drama, and a thriller, with all sorts of other styles thrown into the mix, and it is also Oliver Stone’s darkest film to date. The soundtrack/score of the film helps further mix genres together ranging from country music to eerie horror-esque melodies, while the cinematography can be categorized almost as experimental and trippy at points.
I loved every twist and turn thrown our way in the third act of the film. One could probably guess where the film’s end would lead, but I did not foresee just how many characters were actually involved in the little escape plan and how deeply rooted each character’s relationship truly was. Every plot twist assisted in moving this 124 minute flick along nicely with very little downtime to speak of.
If you are a fan of dark art-house films, you will definitely enjoy U Turn. You can purchase the film today, on Blu-ray for the first time ever, from Twilight Time.
I give U Turn 4 busted radiator hoses out of 5.
