U Turn (1997)
Directed by Oliver Stone
When a desperate man’s car breaks down in a bizarre desert town while evading vengeful bookies, he becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle. Caught between a married couple, he’s faced with deadly contracts to kill them both.
11 connections found
View:
11 films that influenced U Turn
What critics say influenced U Turn
But viewers will also recognize echoes of original noirs, including Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice and even David O. Selznick's lust-in-the-dust Western Duel in the Sun.
Controversial director Oliver Stone is back and supposedly returning to his roots with a smallish, lower-budget, darkly comic rural melodrama (which combines elements of "Red Rock West," "Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and a number of other film noir thrillers).
But viewers will also recognize echoes of original noirs, including Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice and even David O. Selznick's lust-in-the-dust Western Duel in the Sun.
Controversial director Oliver Stone is back and supposedly returning to his roots with a smallish, lower-budget, darkly comic rural melodrama (which combines elements of "Red Rock West," "Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and a number of other film noir thrillers).
But viewers will also recognize echoes of original noirs, including Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice and even David O. Selznick's lust-in-the-dust Western Duel in the Sun.
Controversial director Oliver Stone is back and supposedly returning to his roots with a smallish, lower-budget, darkly comic rural melodrama (which combines elements of "Red Rock West," "Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and a number of other film noir thrillers).
The film's obvious predecessors are Blood Simple, The Hot Spot and Red Rock West.
Using the already pitch-dark modern noir style of Red Rock West as a starting point, Stone pushes his story of murder, veiled motives, and sexual double-cross into realms of surreal excess that make John Dahl look like Ron Howard by comparison.
Advertisement
With close-cropped hair and a grizzly beard that bring to mind John Huston's devious power broker in "Winter Kills," Nick Nolte is wickedly effective as real estate developer Jake, believable when he tells Bobby he can literally smell a lack of scruples on a man.
Like the often-filmed Jim Thompson novels ("The Grifters," "The Getaway," "After Dark, My Sweet," among others) of which it is a knockoff, "U-Turn's" John Ridley script places a drifting stranger who thinks he's wised up in a situation that runs the gamut from garden-variety criminality to the purest evil.
Executive producer John Ridleys short novel Stray Dogs, from which he did the screenplay, pointed its title toward Peckinpahs violent cultured vs. brute Straw Dogs, but the films red corn syrup overload more serves Oliver Stones one of the joys of going to the movies was that it was trashy, and we should never lose that.…
Like the often-filmed Jim Thompson novels ("The Grifters," "The Getaway," "After Dark, My Sweet," among others) of which it is a knockoff, "U-Turn's" John Ridley script places a drifting stranger who thinks he's wised up in a situation that runs the gamut from garden-variety criminality to the purest evil.
While Oliver Stone has yet to direct a memorable feature in this 21st century — World Trade Center, W. and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps are raging mediocrities, while Alexander and Savages are downright awful — there existed a decade-long stretch when he was one of this nation's most interesting and uncompromising filmmakers, crafting such controversial conversation starters as JFK and Natural Born Killers (and, of course, finding more universal acceptance with his Oscar-winning Platoon).
Stone is apparently still in love with the herky-jerky style he's been using for awhile now most obnoxiously in "Natural Born Killers."
It's also difficult to shake the curious feeling that Stone, who satirized similar material so effectively in "Natural Born Killers," is now determined to present it straight.
Outside that screenwriter and directors normal controversial pictures of the Republics wars, drugs, greed and assassinations, U Turn harks back three years to group with his Natural Born Killers, another movie pulp (not surprisingly from an old Tarantino script), supposedly reflecting on media and mass love of bestial blood.
But signs emerged in the reckless satiric tone of Natural Born Killers and ambivalent moral judgment of Nixon that Stone was growing dissatisfied with the righteous declamation of earlier films such as JFK and Born on the Fourth of July.
As in previous efforts like "Natural Born Killers," Stone combines different types of film stock, often giving "U-Turn" a gritty look with heightened colors and blazing sunlight; the look of the film and the expressionistic camera angles reflect the raw passions of the characters.
But mostly Stone has been fair and balanced toward his subject matter in films like "The Doors," "Nixon," "U Turn," "Any Given Sunday," "Alexander," "World Trade Center," and "W."
While Oliver Stone has yet to direct a memorable feature in this 21st century — World Trade Center, W. and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps are raging mediocrities, while Alexander and Savages are downright awful — there existed a decade-long stretch when he was one of this nation's most interesting and uncompromising filmmakers, crafting such controversial conversation starters as JFK and Natural Born Killers (and, of course, finding more universal acceptance with his Oscar-winning Platoon).
But just because there are no "JFK" or "Nixon" conspiracy theories here, don't think this nightmarish trip through paranoia-ville is any more mainstream in its approach than his past few films.
Controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone ("JFK"/"Platoon") directs a modern film noir based on the book Stray Dogs by John Ridley.
But signs emerged in the reckless satiric tone of Natural Born Killers and ambivalent moral judgment of Nixon that Stone was growing dissatisfied with the righteous declamation of earlier films such as JFK and Born on the Fourth of July.
But just because there are no "JFK" or "Nixon" conspiracy theories here, don't think this nightmarish trip through paranoia-ville is any more mainstream in its approach than his past few films.
But signs emerged in the reckless satiric tone of Natural Born Killers and ambivalent moral judgment of Nixon that Stone was growing dissatisfied with the righteous declamation of earlier films such as JFK and Born on the Fourth of July.