Review of U Turn (1997) by Ivan D — 15 Mar 2010
"U Turn" consists of automatic ingredients of a neo-noir: Lost protagonists, femme fatales, and crazy characters. Oliver Stone, still in the mood for the manic visuals of "Natural Born Killers", created the film to look like a cheap Z-grade film.
The performances were all great, but again, what negative thing would you expect from an ensemble cast with the likes of Jon Voight, Joaquin Phoenix, and Nick Nolte for starters. Sean Penn was amazingly delirious in this film, able to embody a less-than-moral man, but one can't help but mysteriously be fascinated and empathize with the character.
Even Jennifer Lopez was surprisingly good here. Jon Voight's character, the blind man, appears to be the craziest person in the eyes of Superior inhabitants, but in fact, he is the sanest man in the film, able to weigh decisions that the main characters could not.
Oliver Stone is a filmmaker with many detractors, but to take a break from big-budget projects and briefly settle to a small, but great production was very admirable on its own. "U Turn" can appear as a double feature with John Dahl's "Red Rock West", two noirs for the new generation.
This review of U Turn (1997) was written by Ivan D on 15 Mar 2010.
U Turn has generally received positive reviews.
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