U Turn

Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Voight, Powers Boothe, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Brent Briscoe, Julie Hagerty, Laurie Metcalf, Liv Tyler
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Sean Penn) traveling to pay off a debt gets stranded in a small Arizona town where he encounters a series of misfortunes.

Review:

Tim: I really feel like I should have liked Oliver Stone's U Turn more than I did. He assembles a frankly stunning cast. The movie is memorable- it's basically a guy stuck in a town where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. It's provocative, challenging, beyond dark. So many effective elements were in place. And yet, I can't say this was much more than a decent film. The film is undoubtedly too long. It's fine to watch a guy deal with problems, but 2 hours and 5 minutes of nothing but depressing negativity begins to wear on you. I started to lose patience with the film long before it ended. So, I do want to give credit to Stone for some of the things he does here, but ultimately, the movie overstays its welcome and I wouldn't consider it very good.

I do want to start with the cast. On paper, it's one of the best casts I have ever seen. The reality isn't quite as good, but this is still the film's biggest strength. Sean Penn is really strong in the lead role. I've never been a Penn fan, but this role leveraged all of his strengths. He's sort of likable, but sort of not. You sympathize with him a bit, but it's also fun to see him suffer so much throughout the course of the film. It's a really strong performance. Jennifer Lopez was really strong, too. I think she was still figuring out the whole acting thing at this point, but she throws herself completely into this role. She emerges as one of the most memorable aspects of the film. Her character is flawed, complex, and always interesting. She worked well with Penn.

Nick Nolte was a great addition, too. He gives a strong performance and makes a lasting impact on the film. Billy Bob Thornton was nearly unrecognizable, but was quite effective in his role. I did get annoyed with him as the movie progressed, but it's an unforgettable performance for sure. Jon Voight actually was unrecognizable. I felt mostly disappointed by his role, though. Why would you cast Voight in a film and then not leverage his considerable talent? Powers Boothe offered a strong supporting role, too. He had some very effective moments throughout the film. I liked seeing Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes here. While their roles were mostly annoying, their presence was welcome. It was fun seeing Liv Tyler in an extremely small role, too. So, when you look at the names of the cast, it's a stunning collection of talent. Inexplicably, Stone doesn't leverage all of their talents. The movie mostly focuses on Penn and Lopez. Nolte gets some solid screen time, Thornton gets a few memorable scenes. Boothe has his moments. Voight is mostly wasted and Phoenix and Danes have little to do. I loved the cast, but I wished they were used more effectively.

The story never shies away from being dark and it tackles multiple mature themes. I appreciated Stone's perspective, but I have to admit the film ultimately became too bleak to me. Continuously seeing the darkest aspects of humanity for two hours just wore me out by the end. There's very little to feel good about here. Now, Stone's film does have more depth than your average dramatic thriller, so that's a plus. He creates this fascinating little hellhole of a small town and fills it with the worst kind of people. It's fascinating in a sense. Stone is a talented director and there's multiple things he did in this film that I just marvel at seeing. However, the movie is a chore to sit through. There's moments I would love to revisit, but the idea of ever sitting through this again is just too much for me.

U Turn is worth seeing and I'd absolutely understand if people loved the film. For me, it was a little too much and I can't quite say I enjoyed it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



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