U Turn

I can count the films from the 1990s that I haven’t seen on one hand, since I watched everything back then, including romantic comedies starring Meg Ryan. U Turn was one of them and now I regret that I don’t have more of them in reserve, because thinking back to the actors of the day is great fun. Just when you think that nothing in this film can surprise you after the crazy, greased-up car mechanic Billy Bob Thornton or the violent pervert Nick Nolte, along comes the nervous Joaquin Phoenix with his gelled hair and you have Christmas for movie viewers. Despite that, I have a bit of a problem with this Stone flick – as great as it is in its atmospheric beginning and the accelerating drive into the main character’s ever more absurd, fucked-up situation, it’s incongruous mix of drama and comedy, which even Morricone couldn’t handle, becomes increasingly frayed at the edges. And in the climax, everything gets completely out of hand with respect to specific screenwriting sense. (16/10/2020)

Weird film, that's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of U-Turn. Emotionally it’s a very cold film that just fizzles through your head. I’m not saying I was bored, but it is weak for Stone standards. Among those worth mentioning are the chubby, charmingly dirty Bob Thorthon (unrecognizable!) and the then-unknown Jeniffer with her sexy proportions. (11/05/2003)

It's like eating mushrooms and finding yourself in a strange state where perspective is erased and sound cuts you like a saber on your bare skin. Somewhere, the combination of Stone's eccentricity with Ennio Morricone's overwrought soundtrack is pretty successful, but sometimes this experiment loses its way and staggers over the gorge of exaggeration. Luckily, it always saved by the hand of the excellent cast and a rather successful redneck prank. It's pretty obvious that Stone is trying so hard to find himself until he gets lost... And unfortunately, that lasted to this day. (09/01/2004)

Darned bad luck. Oliver Stone played around with absolutely everything he could. Unreal camera and editing; you don’t often get that in movies like this. Excellent actors too, Sean Penn taking the throne. A first-rate, but also slightly weird movie. - What happened to your hand? - An accident. - You've got to be more careful. (29/06/2010)

Formally, it has a brilliant style with an incredibly refined cinematography, filters, and excellently interwoven musical inserts. Emotionally, however, it’s very cold. Whether it was the intention is hard to say (though it did seem that way to me towards the end), but I didn't believe the acting of the film's key figure, Jennifer Lopez, for even a minute – yes, beauty for sure, but no talent. Sean Penn, on the other hand, is outstanding. The basic plotline is unfortunately too simple and as such, will not satisfy many film enthusiasts. The Indian moralizing babble can be survived, just like the literally insane ending, where a smile from ear to ear is obligatory. Crazy, twisted, depressing, deranged. Oliver Stone and his genre deviation, or one slightly controversial variation on film noir. (28/09/2006)