U Turn Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Sex. Murder. Betrayal. Everything that makes life worth living.
A man running from a mysterious past is trapped in a small desert town after his car breaks down. Everybody in this town seems to have totally lost their mind and Bobby can't wait to leave. But there is a problem: Bobby doesn't have the money to get his car back. So when an aging man offers him money to kill his young wife Bobby seriously thinks about it. However the gorgeous young woman casts some kind of spell on him and she asks him to get rid of her husband. But this time, the stakes are much higher...
| Sean Penn | Bobby Cooper |
| Nick Nolte | Jake McKenna |
| Jennifer Lopez | Grace McKenna |
| Powers Boothe | Sheriff Virgil Potter |
| Claire Danes | Jenny |
| Joaquin Phoenix | Toby N. Tucker a.k.a. TNT |
| Jon Voight | Blind Man |
| Billy Bob Thornton | Darrell |
| Abraham Benrubi | Biker #1 |
| Richard Rutowski | Biker #2 |
| Aida Linares | Jamilla |
| Sean Stone | Boy in Grocery Store |
| Ilia Volok | Sergei |
| Valeri Nikolayev | Mr. Arkady |
| Brent Briscoe | Boyd |
| Oliver Stone |
6.70 out of 10 (20182 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Wrong Way
posted on 14 Jul 2009Spoilers herein.Stone had potential. `Platoon' was raw. `JFK' was deft. But this is such a miss, there must be drugs involved.Here's the problem, I think. Stone really believes we are all hillbillies and any vision he might have must be interesting. Sorta works when he has a `message' and he's interested in how we feel. Then we willingly meet him halfway.Here we have a condescending, pretentious collection of effects that do not coalesce. `Red Rock' meets `Fargo' meets `Deliverance.' I have just seen Penn's `The Pledge,' which shows mastery of focus and some breadth. Of directing, Penn said that Stone was pig, and because of it had to make bad films. Stone thinks actors are just meat, and Penn is an irascible SOB, so you might not trust that statement until you see this.If he wants to play Coen, he has to think of himself as one of us, watching the joke of life cook. This territory is no place for superiority, which is why this film is about itself. Just as Bobby has no control over his work, so with Stone.As to the acting, Voight and Thornton are too far into parody. Clearly Voight are Nolte are trying, but Billy Bob makes up his own by now worn out character. Lopez just cannot act and her only asset is photographed unflatteringly here.Danes impresses me. Both she and Phoenix seem to find a center for at least their scenes and both are internal actors (like Nolte and Penn). I think Penn is a remarkable talent; he can play several levels simultaneously. But Stone is a straightahead guy. So Penn is asked to have one perspective here, another there, and on and on as Stone tries some `Limey' - like timeshifting.Penn and Nolte went together shortly after this to make `The Thin Red Line.' Watch that to see an interesting contrast in effectiveness from these two. (Then Penn made the amazingly multilevel `Sweet and Lowdown.')
Modern noir with a dark twist...
posted on 08 Jul 2009Brilliant & hallucinatory cinematography, impeccable use of music, and a handful of dark, edgy character sketches all work together very nicely to make this bleak, dark-humoured desert noir an overlooked highlight of Oliver Stone's career. The highly evocative atmosphere plays out against the Arizona desert in a way that (in addition to foreshadowing some of the work done in Terry Gilliam's own twisted little masterpiece 'Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas') seems to mirror, in a more subtle and tasteful manner, much of Stone's work in 'Natural Born Killers'. However, rather than hitting us over the head with whatever socially charged 'message' he may have been attempting to convey in that film, here he is simply content to let it build up a thick and steamy ambience that moves our hapless comrades on towards their own impending personal apocalypse. Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, and Jennifer Lopez all turn in great performances and Billy Bob Thornton's eccentric character sketch elevates what may be defined as a bit part to a far more relevant status. Modern noir with a few dark twists and a taste all it's own that's well worth digging into...for those who have a taste for this kind of thing, if you know what I mean.
perhaps the worst film ever made!!!!!
posted on 29 Jun 2009what a sorry movie!!! Don`t waste your time!! Their is nothing that can save this film!! And it`s to bad because i like all the actors that are in this movie but they made a bad decision to have to anything to do with this trash!! total "B" movie garbage!! rating (best of 5 stars).....1.....
life as a film noir
posted on 26 Jun 2009After so many politically-themed movies, Oliver Stone decided to try something very different with "U Turn". Sean Penn plays Bobby Cooper, whose car breaks down in Superior, Arizona. Over the next few days in this small town, Cooper gets to know the various people there...but is he learning everything about them that there is to be learned? Penn gives his usual intense performance. Nick Nolte, as the might-as-well-be-mayor Jake McKenna, creates one perplexing character. Also starring are Jennifer Lopez (actually doing a good role!), Jon Voight, Billy Bob Thornton, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Powers Boothe, and Julie Hagerty. This is definitely not a movie for everyone, but it's fairly neat. A sort of modern-day film noir.
This Town is for the Dogs
posted on 12 May 2009Oliver Stone brings to life the novel "Stray Dogs" and creates a movie that is both visually beautiful and darkly ominous in its disturbing humor. Down on his luck Bobby Cooper's(Sean Penn)luck is about to sink further to the bottom when his car breaks down and he is forced to head into a small desert town for repairs. Here he meets a number of off their rocker, oddball characters. The creepy garage attendant,Darrell(Billy Bob Thornton). The sultry femme fatale, Grace McKenna(Jennifer Lopez) who smolders with sensuality while playing her dangerous game of seducing Bobby. The jealous husband, Jake(Nick Nolte)who would be happy to see her dead. Just the proposal Bobby would run from , however he lacks the cash (due to a series of misfortunes, one with a superb performance from Aida Linaires)to get his car and get out of this bizarre nightmare disguised as a town. Now the games and plot twists begin as Bobby seriously considers Jake's proposal to do the deed. This movie is a full on ensemble of wacko characters, superbly played by everyone. Claire Danes as the skipping, bubbly, flirtatious, free-spirited Jenny. Joaquin Phoenix as her psychotic Toby N. Tucker, whose ready to explode at any given moment. John Voight as a blind Native American who delivers words of half-wisdom and carts his dead dog around. The Prize, however, goes to the two most memorable short performances by Julie Hagerty as FLO(yikes) and Laurie Metcalf as a Bus Station Agent, which if you don't like the movie Laurie's performance along with Sean Penn will be well worth the watch...
Oliver Sone is a druged up hippie!!!!!
posted on 30 Apr 2009The guy from Australlia who reveiwed this was right!!!!!! I think however that the first 1/2 hour was good but it just got long and boring. I like sickning movies where everybody asked me "How could you watch that trash?!?!" But this movie is how they ask me "TRASH!!!!!"
Tragicomic page-turner episodes keep you glued to the end
posted on 23 Feb 2009The film was recommended for its views of an old moribund mining town of Superior, Arizona, "despite its content." But we found it to be an Odyssey of a poor sap whose "U-Turn" got him deeper and deeper into more and more morbidly irresistible situations. Who can he trust? Can he survive the passionate appeal of a seductress with her own agenda? Long after we enjoyed the geographical background scenery we were gripped by the tragicomic sequences and the need to know what or who was happening to whom next. Want action and like antiheros? Enjoy dusty Western locales? Want to console the abused beauty J-Lo? Bored with too-obvious movie characters? If your life gets predictable and you want a change, see U-Turn.
U turn to hell
posted on 23 Feb 2009Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) is driving on a hot day with the money he owes to the guys who broke two of his fingers.Suddenly his car breaks down and he gets in a small town somewhere in Arizona.It's a town where the word normal is unknown.Billy Bob Thornton plays a nutty mechanic called Darrell whose job is to fix Bobby's car.It takes longer than expected.Nick Nolte plays Jake McKenna who asks Bobby to kill his wife Grace (Jennifer Lopez) for money.Grace asks Bobby to kill Jake.In town Bobby also meets an eager young woman Jenny (Claire Danes) who is all over Bobby.Joaquin Phoenix plays her jealous boyfriend Toby N. Tucker.Powers Boothe plays sheriff Potter.Jon Voight is the blind man with lots of wisdoms.Bobby's number one plan becomes to get out of the town.But it's not that easy.Oliver Stone's U Turn from 1997 is brilliant dramatic thriller with black comedy.The actors are excellent.U Turn is a movie with lots of twists that keep you interested till the end of the movie.There ain't fear of boredom in any point.Make a u turn to see this movie fast.It won't disappoint you.
Searing, unpredictable drama -- good fun
posted on 17 Feb 2009Perhaps Oliver Stone's most cock-eyed film is his least controversial - - and most under-appreciated. U Turn IS one strange ride, that's for sure.
But in involves little of Stone's standard devices (no famous people, no
far-reaching conspiracies, and best of all, no history). This is a tight little drama played out in a dusty, hot desert town
where Sean Penn's character is trapped, broke and very desperate. Sean Penn is a frantic drifter who, after his antique car breaks down has
been liberated of all his about-to-be-paid gambling debt money. A sleazy
realtor (Nick Nolte) wants his wife dead, but Penn's character may or may
not be the man for the job. Billy Bob Thornton's role is riotous as a brain-dead but crooked auto -mechanic who is making Penn's character's life miserable and his exit out
of town impossible. He is but one of the many sideline acts that makes U
Turn so tasty. The tiny Southwest town is populated by the dimwitted and the homicidal.
And we are trapped there for nearly two hours. We know we're riding home in
comfort eventually, but will Penn's character make it out alive?
My husband and I both thought it was great!
posted on 11 Feb 2009Penn was brillian and deserved an academy award. It is a rather black comidy but we can not understand why it was not as big as Pulp Fiction or some of the others. Anyway we loved it and have purchased it for our DVD library and will watch and enjoy it many times. END
It looked promising though(5/10)
posted on 30 Jan 2009You could do a LOT worse on a hot summer day than renting a copy of U-turn. Sean Penn is perfect for the role, though I thought some of the other characters were distracting if not unnecessary. It starts off pretty well but midway my interest was wearing thin. The movie does a great job of capturing the feel of a hot, dusty town...made me feel like wanting a drink as I watched. It's an old theme, but this is surely better than enduring a lot of big screen movies recently (episode 1, the mummy, etc).
Funny, exciting, and unpredictable
posted on 21 Jan 2009Well, seeing as how I have nothing better to do than watch TV most of my waking hours, I was able to catch another movie on The Movie Channel. Earlier today when I was flipping around, I saw an ad on TMC that said they would be showing Oliver Stone's u-turn this evening. I am a fan of Oliver Stone, I enjoyed the two Oliver Stone movies I'd seen before, The Doors and Natural Born Killers (especially the second one.), so I thought I would probably enjoy this one too. I was right. Unlike The Doors or Natural Born Killers, this movie is a comedy, but it's a dark comedy. Here's a synopsis without any big spoilers: The movie's protagonist (Sean Penn) was on the way to pay off some gangsters who he owed money to when he got stuck in a small town in Arizona after his car broke down. While he was in town, he lost the money (I won't tell you how) and then tried to scrape together enough to pay off his debt, and also to pay the hilarious redneck mechanic (Billy Bob Thorton) who worked on his car. Along the way he met all sorts of characters, some zany, some tragic, some evil, some downright insane. Some of them were a little of each. This movie does not have a dull moment. You never know what will happen next. Just when things start to go one way, there is always some crazy plot twist that will send things spiraling in another direction. This movie will keep you guessing until the surprise ending. One thing that makes this movie so great is the great acting from all of the cast. They played their parts beautifully. I especially appreaciated the performances of Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thorton, Jennifer Lopez, and Nick Nolte. I also must congratulate Ennio Morricone for the awesome score that enhanced every scene in the movie. It utilized a wide variety of different instruments (from strings to distorted electric guitar to juice harp.), and the different pieces themselves also spanned the spectrum from quirky to beautifully melodic to countrified.So, in conclusion, u-turn blew me away, and chances are that it will blow you away too if you like a dark comedy with lots of plots twists, and you can handle some blood 'n' gore and some disturbing subject matter.
Oliver Stone`s funny masterpice
posted on 13 Dec 2008Oliver Stone maked this movie in 40 days. The acting is great and large, the budget is low but Stone`s hypercinetic style is full of surprises, never being boring. From the opening credits you sit down and take two hours notice until the end when you are wondering how quickly the time was gone. I`m know this is not Stone best film, but hey, it`s no conspiracy here, it`s just fun.
Damn good movie
posted on 07 Dec 2008I just seen this movie on TV here in Sweden.It was damn good.Sean Penn is the best actor alive today. I really hope to see more movies from him.I really think Lopez did fairly good, if we compare with other of her movies.The native American older man, was very cool, I love shamanism. Oliver Stone may have done better things, but this movie is really worth seeing.I loved the dark end. Download ore rent this movie, NOW.
'Your lies are old.....but you tell them pretty well.'
posted on 07 Nov 2008Destined to be a cult classic U turn has to be the finest 'non conformist' movie of recent years. Panned in some critical circles no doubt thanks at least partly to Oliver Stone's high profile, due for a fall persona, U turn is a warts and all no holds bar trawl through the dark underbelly of the American psyche. Stone and the writer Ridley take great pleasure in subverting just about every movie cliche you could think of in true Shakespearean style. The ensemble acting is masterly, Nolte coming across as a combination of Lee Marvin and Sterling Hayden with a pair of knashers (his own I think) Bugs Bunny would be proud of. Thornton hams it up hilariously. Lopez, Danes, Phoenix, Boothe, Voight all deliver in spades. Holding it all together Penn's performance is faultless. Stand out scene must go to the old lady literally blowing 'Bobbie Cooper's' lifeline into smithereens. Coupled with the classic Morricone score and you have an AIP lover driven into rapture.
Bad
posted on 20 Oct 2008I know quite a few people seemed to really like this movie, But oh my god this has seriously got to be the most awful movie I have ever seen. Maybe it's just not my type of film but it was really gross actually made me want to be sick. I found it really disgusting and the whole thing about J-Lo's character bonking her dad is rough. And don't mean to sound like a wuss but some bits of it were a bit scary -like the flashbacks of her mum. This film was nothing like I expected. It seemed really cheap and just basically crap. Jen really can't act, I get put off seeing films If shes in them since I saw this film. Don't really like Claire Danes either, she is well annoying! Haven't been too keen on Sean Penn either since I saw him in that Friends episode...God I'm such a whiner lol
Better Than I Expected From A Guy Like Stone
posted on 20 Oct 2008Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) is in trouble. After getting two of his fingers chopped off by the mob over $13,000 he owed them, he treks out West to get it. On his way back through Arizona, his car breaks down. This brings him to a town called Superior, where everyone seems to be out of their mind. After trying to put the moves on a young married woman (Jennifer Lopez), her older husband (Nick Nolte) tries to hire Bobby to kill her. She, however, makes an even better counter offer to kill her husband instead. When Bobby gets robbed at a convenience store, and doesn't even have the money to get his car out of the shop, he knows he has to think fast, because the mob will be after him soon.I normally don't like Oliver Stone. I won't go into why, I think most people who aren't fond of his work can say it better than I can. However, I thought this was such a great movie, but I knew it would be doomed at the box office. It's probably too weird for most people to get into.Stone's direction is great. He intercuts scenes from Bobby's point of view with quick flashes of images, and unlike the flashes of Brad Pitt in Fight Club or the flash of Guy Pearce in Memento, these ones last long enough to see and take in. For example, before Bobby first meets Lopez's character, who was behind him down the street at the time, we see for a split second an image of her walking out from the alleyway with her package, sending Bobby a quick smile. He then turns around to see her walking away.When she recalls how Nolte was married to her mother and beating her, we see a quick non-explicit shot of Nolte having sex with her mother from behind. She turns around and laughs, and Nolte swiftly decks her in the face, knocking her head back. Not long enough to take attention away from the story, but long enough to be disturbing.Another disturbing shot, again with Lopez, is when Nolte is having sex with her. The scene quickly alternates between different close up shots slightly off from what they intend to show; Lopez's hair, Nolte's arm, Lopez's foot, and that disturbing pet crow of Nolte's that won't shut up.The acting is wonderful. Sean Penn makes a guy who is honestly beleagured despite being a generally immoral person. He is not malicious, but is self-centered. Nolte shocked me with how well he played such a sick b***ard, and Jon Voight (I know that's spelled wrong) and Billy Bob Thornton were unrecognizable in their respective roles as a blind Indian and a dirty mechanic. Jennifer Lopez was also perfect for the part of the manipulative, possibly bi-polar woman who will do anything to get out of that worthless town, and Joaquin Pheonix was just hilarious. In fact, this small performance was probably his best.Overall, quite a good movie.
Great Movie!
posted on 04 Aug 2009If you have not seen this movie, do so. This movie is for anyone who thinks they have bad luck. Now, this is definitely a "Murphys' Law" movie. Anything bad that can happen to poor Sean Penn, will... This movie was first showed to me by an ex-boyfriend. He knew I was a movie buff, I love Stanley Kubrick and Oliver Stone and John Waters, and he mentioned the movie U-turn. I never had seen it. And now I am thankful I dated that jerk because he turned me onto a great movie. This is how J.Ho, i mean, J.Lo should be. This was her before the many marriages and media frenzy. If you have not seen this movie, check it out. Trust me, it's worth it! My favorite person in this movie is Billy bob... but you have to look out for him in this. They do some great makeup on him... Enjoy, I did!