the fresh films reviews

S I N C E   1 9 9 7









 

U-Turn (1997)

Directed by:
Oliver Stone

COUNTRY
USA

GENRE
Crime/Neo-noir

NORWEGIAN TITLE
U-Turn

RUNNING TIME
125 minutes

Produced by:
Clayton Townsend
Dan Halsted
Written by (based on his novel):
John Ridley


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Bobby Cooper Sean Penn
Jake McKenna Nick Nolte
Grace McKenna Jennifer Lopez ½
Sheriff Potter Powers Boothe
Jenny Claire Danes
Toby N. Tucker Joaquin Phoenix ½
Darrell Billy Bob Thornton ½
Blind Man Jon Voight
Flo Julie Hagerty -
Ed Bo Hopkins -
Girl in Bus Station Liv Tyler -

 

Review

Oliver Stone tried his hand at the then in-vogue MTV style with this crime mystery set in a small town in the Arizona desert. Sean Penn plays a small-time criminal whose car breaks down while passing through, and as he walks into town after leaving it with the local hillbilly mechanic (Billy Bob Thornton), he gradually finds himself tangled up in the town's highly dysfunctional relationships and buried secrets. The claustrophobic, noirish downward spiral Stone aims for is realised partly through moments of poignancy, partly through hyper-stylised mystique, and partly through the film's grainy, ugly cinematography. As a whole, the film sprawls in too many directions and doesn't quite work, but it has its moments. Nick Nolte delivers a powerful, nuanced performance that might have been a real contender in a better movie.

Re-reviewed: Copyright © 23.06.2025 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
Original review:
Copyright © 23.03.2000 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang