Retro Film Review: U Turn (1997)

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drax5 years agoeSteem3 min read

(source:tmdb.org)

Oliver Stone is one of the most successful film makers in modern Hollywood, but quality of his films has very little do with it. Stone simply knows how to pick important subjects and invest enough energy to make each one of them into memorable viewing experiences. So, Oliver Stone's films, whether they are good or bad, always create a lot of attention and are always talked about. Some are less talked about, though, and 1997 neo-noir thriller U Turn belongs to that particular category.

Unlike most of Oliver Stone's films that dealt with history or important social issues, this one is relatively simple thriller, based on the novel Stray Dogs by John Ridley (who also wrote screenplay). Protagonist is Bobby Cooper (played by Sean Penn), professional tennis player who owes serious amounts of money to Russian mobsters. While he tries to deliver money in Las Vegas his car breaks down and he is forced to spend some time in small town of Superior, Arizona. Rude car mechanic Darrell (played by Billy Bob Thornton) is just one among many dislikeable and quirky characters he would have to meet. Chance encounter with beautiful Grace McKenna (played by Jennifer Lopez) would lead to quick romance. Before the relationship has time to develop Bobby has to deal with her jealous and rich husband Jake (played by Nick Nolte) whose reaction to his wife's infidelity is rather strange one - he wants to hire Bobby as Grace's killer. Grace, on the other hand, has similar plan towards Jake. Before Bobby can decide what to do, there are some more immediate problems - flirtatious teenager Jenny (played by Claire Danes) and her violent and pathologically jealous boyfriend TNT (played by Joaquin Phoenix).

U Turn had misfortune of appearing only few years after

Red Rock West

, one of 1990s most celebrated thrillers. Plot similarities made comparison between two films unavoidable, and those comparisons weren't very flattering to Oliver Stone's film. The cast, is very interesting, especially Billy Bob Thornton in the small but memorable role of a mechanic. Other players, on the other hand, weren't that good - Nick Nolte tragically overacts, while Jennifer Lopez shows little of the charms associated with one of today's most desirable women. However, being similar to other 1990s neo-noir classic wasn't biggest problem of this film. In more capable hands this could have worked as semi-ironic homage to 1940s classics like Detour and Duel in the Sun. Unfortunately, the film was directed by Oliver Stone who again couldn't have resisted urge to bombard audience with MTV-style "clever" shots. All that made U Turn much longer and tiresome to the audience than it should have been. Black humour and surprisingly refreshing musical score by Ennio Morricone somewhat improve general impression but not enough for this film to be among the more memorable pieces of Oliver Stone's filmography.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on February 10th 2004)