Review of U Turn (1997) by David M — 09 Aug 2016
Oliver Stone applies the acid-trip visuals (over saturated color, disorienting cuts) of Natural Born Killers to an overly pulpy sun-drenched noir type film that is notable only for the excess of sleaze on tap.
A large cast of actors have fun playing gonzo characters from Lopez's overly sexed up Grace (a femme fatale by way of Skinemax), Joaquin Phoenix as a vaguely hispanic, machismo-laden jealous boyfriend, and Billy Bob Thornton as a turtlenecked hillbilly.
The whitewashing of Phoenix and Voight as a blind Native American is almost forgivable given the raunchy nature of the film. And then there's Penn playing a cipher of confusion as he ping-pongs around a story that just merry-go-rounds and has so many twists it forgets it never gave you a reason to care.
As an exercise in style it is pretty fun to watch a drifter come into a cliche-ridden small town and try to leave. It's also exhausting without the deeper themes of NBK's satire of the media and America's fascination and fetishization of serial killers.
All style and no substance is nearly palatable when you have this much style.
This review of U Turn (1997) was written by David M on 09 Aug 2016.
U Turn has generally received positive reviews.
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