Gritty and brutal, but entertaining as all hell.(fin)

With its rough cuts, non-steady cam shots, and scenes filmed as the sun glaring down on the actors, Richardson's work gives a harsh and nauseating feel to the film. Stone's direction was excellent. He's an admirable director in that he doesn't follow the mainstream concepts that are commonly seen in most motion pictures. Watching a Stone film is like watching graduate film students show off their work-it's fresh, energetic, and exciting. `U Turn, undoubtedly, has some of 1997s best performances.Penn is outstanding as a guy who just keeps happening on the wrong place at the wrong time. Jennifer Lopez is surprisingly good in her performances as the wife of a real estate salesman. Lopez seems to have some talent on the screen…unlike her singing career.

Her performance in another offbeat movie, `Out Of Sight,' was also good. Nick Nolte is as Nick Nolte does-he's rough around the edges, perverse and violent as the real estate salesman who seems to rule over the sleepy town. Other performances of note are that of Thornton has a slack-jawed yokel mechanic. Joaquin Phoenix (`Signs') as a hillbilly and his simple-minded girlfriend, played by Claire Danes (`The Hours') give the film a hysterical notch. Other points of interest in the film are the score, composed by veteran, Italian, film composer Ennio Morrcone (`Mission To Mars') whose music adds a humorous atmosphere to the irony of the film. All in all, `U Turn' is a film that is gritty and brutal, but entertaining as hell. ***1/2

Sordid tales in a little town of the southern USA.

Author: adam-x from Portugal
10 December 2004

A marked gambler (Penn) on the run, comes to a little town in the middle of nowhere, south USA. A town filled with very unusual characters, sordid secrets and strange opportunities, that seem very appealing to this "Pat Poker" on the run, which desperately needs money to pay the idiotic, redneck town mechanic. Penn and Nolte are at the greatest level, and Lopez fills the requisites of her character. Beautiful piece of writing, with surprising plot twists which make way to a most brilliant ending, "Stone" style despair. A very misunderstood work by this brilliant, all-American director. Another piece of genuine America, with all her virtues and even more flaws, seen trough "stone" cold eyes...

Good film

Author: dav7nine (dav7nine@hotmail.com) from Fife, Scotland
18 September 2004

I have to say this film was sort of what I thought it was... I really enjoyed it!

I've seen Sean Penn in a few films now and they're all good. Oliver Stone is one of the finest men in film production. It's visually stunning, loads of mad camera pans and colour blast-outs! The supporting cast are great as well. Billy Bob Thornton looks nothing like him and is away with it, Jennifer Lopez is attractive an alluring, Nick Nolte is totally convincing and great as the wicked husband, Joiquin Phoenix is mad as TNT and possibly the best is John Voight as a blind homeless person!(mwouais...faut quand même pas exagérer...the best !?) A great film with a good ending... although I wouldn't like to be any of them! A good 7/10