"Everything is everything. And everything is nothing, too."
Directed by Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers).
Screenplay by John Ridley and based on his book Stray Dogs. Cinematography was by Robert Richardson. Music was by Ennio Morricone. The creative Film Editingwas by Hank Corwin and Thomas J. Nordberg.
The film stars Sean Penn as Bobby Cooper, Jennifer Lopez as Grace McKenna, Nick Nolte as Jake McKenna, Powers Boothe as Sheriff Virgil Potter, Claire Danes as Jenny, Joaquin Phoenix as Toby N. Tucker (aka "TNT"), Jon Voight as Blind Indian, Billy Bob Thornton as Darrell, Abraham Benrubi as Biker #1, Sean Stone as Boy in Grocery Store, Ilia Volok as Sergei, Valeri Nikolayev as Mr. Arkady, Brent Briscoe as Boyd, Bo Hopkins as Ed, Julie Hagerty as Flo, Sheri Foster as Grace's Mother, Liv Tyler as Girl in Bus Station (Cameo) Laurie Metcalf as Bus Station ticket attendant and the Sonoran Desert towns South and East of Phoenix, Arizona.
On first go round I thought that U Turn was a little bit too over the top for its own good. It seemed a bit to obvious, especially Billy Bob Thornton as Darrell. His inbred grease monkey Darrell feels like a close relative of his dim bulb character Karl Childers from Sling Blade only Darrell displays a slightly brighter wattage. It's Thorntons schtick.
The other low lifes that inhabit Superior otherwise known as "Armpit" Arizona, are just a fraction more under control. Ya got a businessman Jake Mckenna (Nolte) who is married to his own daughter Grace (J. Lo) who turns out is quite the round heels, i.e. the town pump. Sleazy Town Sheriff, Virgil Potter (Booth) is tapping Grace also. Grace's castoffs can have the ready to spread fallback consolation of horny beanery waitress Flo (Hagerty).
The past their shelf date town high school sweethearts are cutie pie Jenny (Danes) and dimwit jock "TNT" Tobey N. Tucker (Phoenix). Jenny is tempted by any better prospect with a swinging dick that can whisk her away from the meathead she's engaged to and this fly speck she lives in. Living in the streets and spouting goofball homilies is a blind Native American vagrant (Voight).
Blind Man: Things ain't always what they seem. You gotta ask yourself: Is it worth it? Cause the day comes: The Earth Maker is gonna come down and look right in your fucking heart. And then you better know what it is you're doing. Are you a human being or just some hungry ghost out there?
Blind Man: It's the desert that makes you crazy. The loneliness out here. Nobody to talk to. People on the run.
Blind Man: You know, we're all eyes in the same head.
The whole film is a dark fever dream punctuated by hallucinatory visual stylistics of the Film Soleil Noir school to an Ennio Morricone sore. Think of it as Twin Peaks South.
Outside of this shithole, driving the only thing of value he has left, a '65 Mustang convertible, is a has been tennis player named Bobby Cooper (Penn). He's already minus a couple of fingers from welching on a bet with some Las Vegas bookies, and his next payment is due yesterday.
Of course he blows a radiator hose and has to detour into Noirsville.
After dealing with goober Darrell, Grace, using her flypaper like charms, eventually lures new meat Bobby into the sack and tells him that she'll split the two hundred thousand dollars that daddy/hubby Jake has squirreled away if he'll help her kill him. She doesn't know that as soon as Bobby hit the road after his first assignation with Grace he got picked up by Jake and propositioned to kill his wife/daughter Grace. Choices, Choices....
Noirsville
A fun Neo Noir 8/10
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