REVIEW: U-TURN (1997)
by Chris Webb copyright 1997
to be in Amherst Student 10/22/97
Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, and Joaquin Phoenix.
Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by John Ridley
Imagine yourself being placed in a world where you have lost all control, cannot trust anyone, and where all roads lead to nowhere. You find yourself facing self-centered and self-serving people who seem to only know two things: how to survive everyday life and how to make your life miserable. You are stripped of trust and faith in humanity. Now, go see "U-Turn."
The idea of stagnant lifestyles in the southwest have crept onto the screen in recent years with Richard Linklater's teen slacker films "Dazed and Confused" and "Suburbia." Once again, the south becomes the butt of a cruel joke in Oliver Stone's "U-Turn," which seems to ask the question: what would the slacker adults be like?
Sean Penn stumbles into Superior, Arizona, after his car overheats, running into the most extreme characters one could imagine. His days brings him into contact with a greasy mechanic (Billy Bob Thornton), a street dwelling, blind Vietnam veteran (Jon Voight), a nymphomaniac teen and her tough guy boyfriend (Claire Danes and Joaquin Phoenix), and a wronged seductress and her small town mogul boyfriend (Jennifer Lopez and Nick Nolte). This superstar ensemble cast plays each bit with subtlety and great effort, as Stone crafts a painful tale of being stuck in a state of inertia.
In what turns into an oddball coming out gala, one might find "U-Turn" reminiscent of Coen Brothers movies like "Raising Arizona" or "Fargo." But, idiosyncracies that are celebrated in their films take a back seat to irony and perhaps a deeper meaning that only Stone himself would know. The times that the locals shine come with the running gag, "You really oughta be more careful."
Penn plays Bobby Cooper, a small-time gambler in big-time trouble on his way to Vegas to pay off a debt. In this detour, we discover that his gambling losses not only entail money but also two fingers. We are not supposed to sympathize with this guy. So, in Superior, he is fleeced by the mechanic, loses his payoff and his weapon, is dragged into a bidding war to have Lopez or Nolte killed, and is harrassed by the teens. His words to Thornton as he leaves the garage, "The difference between you and me is that I'm only driving through," have come back to haunt him.
Stone has left behind the high-minded social and political theory we found in "JFK," "Natural Born Killers," and "Nixon," and has turned his sights to creating a claustrophobic story of losers using tricky camera work. This is more of a chance for him to display his cinematic eye. He does so with still shots or focusing away from the action during a scene that allow us to see what we might not normally notice. The ugliness or sexiness of the characters are expanded through this technique, for we see the world through Penn's eyes during these moments.
Another difference between this and a Coen Brothers film is the way Stone removes sympathy from the equation. While Nicolas Cage (stealing a baby in "Arizona") and William H. Macy (having his wife kidnapped in "Fargo") committed horrible acts, we nonetheless held some sympathy for their characters. In "U-Turn," we are not meant to like any of them. They are meant to disgust us.
Sophisticated? No. Claire Danes asks Penn, "Why doesn't Patsy Cline make no more records?" not knowing she's dead. Trustworthy? No. Thornton's prices raise, and Lopez and Nolte are bedhopping headhunters. Comforting? No. Penn is always on edge, either being attacked by Nolte or Phoenix, or being involved in a grocery store heist. We would not want to alone in a room with any of these people. In proving this point, however, does writer John Ridley, who adapted this from his story "Stray Dogs" wander too far?
The idea that we would run into this many people and have so many breaks go against one person is highly unbelievable. Furthermore, the addition of an incest plot and suicide plot muddle the already filled script even more. It is Stone's technical mastery and the incredible acting which push this movie over the top.
Believe it or not, I enjoyed "U-Turn" a lot. I was one of the few I saw it with who did, and I know this movie is divisive. It is bloody and gory for one thing, which alienates some viewers. It is highly difficult to follow and will play mind games that will leave you numb at the end. Soon, everything bad (killing, even the incest) seems to have a funny side to it, and you will not be able to figure out just how bad a person you are if you do laugh.
So, try not to think too much. Resist the temptation to add any significant allegory for modern day greed, and you just might have fun. "U-Turn" is not as intelligent as "Trainspotting," but will manipulate your brain just as handily. If you see it for the fun of movie watching, you will have a good time.
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