Rent U Turn (1997)

Forgotten Oliver Stone Masterpiece - U Turn review by GI

A great noir crime thriller with a western setting and one of director Oliver Stone's smaller and yet brilliant films. With similarities in style to his own Natural Born Killers (1994) and some hints of a Tarantino and a Lynchian influence this is a fantastic film, full of great characters, a topnotch cast and a plot that has some interesting twists and turns. Sean Penn is Bobby, who is driving across Arizona in his 1964 Mustang convertible en route to pay off a debt to a nasty gangster, a rendezvous his life depends on. Unfortunately his car breaks down and he is forced to seek repair in the small dusty town of Superior. But a sequence of misfortunes plague his efforts to get his car fixed and to be on his way. When he strikes up a 'friendship' with the beautiful Grace (Jennifer Lopez) his life takes an even worse turn as she wants him to kill her abusive husband (Nick Nolte) but things are never what they seem to be in Superior. The narrative takes on a nightmarish quality as Bobby is faced with a never ending run of bad luck. There is a uniqueness to the editing here and some wonderfully drawn characters who all seem to be extremes and include Billy Bob Thornton as the disgusting mechanic Darrell, Powers Boothe as the local Sheriff, Jon Voight as a blind Indian, Joaquin Pheonix and Claire Danes as a young crazy couple and if you watch carefully you'll spot Liv Tyler in a cameo. This is sharp filmmaking and Stone litters the film with little references and homages some of which delve into his conspiracy theory obsessions. But as a modern crime thriller this is a real treat and definitely a film to check out if you've never seen it.

Bad Luck - U Turn review by NO

Unbelievable the bad luck Penn has but an enjoyable story even if it is a bit farfetched.Interesting characters played by talented actors in a hot desert scenic background.

A good black comedy thriller.