U Turn

A noir set in a small town in Arizona. Bobby is driving to Las Vegas; he owes money and is in trouble if he does not pay. His car breaks down and is towed into a town called Superior. The mechanic wants time for a part to arrive. The few hours he has to stay turn into days. Bobby meets a woman named Grace, then her husband Jake. The man makes him an offer: money to kill his wife. Then the woman comes with a similar offer. The idea is that the protagonist thinks he is clever and everyone in town is a step ahead of him. Every move he makes leaves things worse. The townspeople are part of the story too: a mechanic who keeps inventing work, a young man who keeps turning up, and a sheriff keeping an eye on things. The register is hard and irritable; the image is full of dust, heat and constant inserted cuts. That formal choice is what the film is most argued about for. Sean Penn plays Bobby, Jennifer Lopez plays Grace and Nick Nolte plays Jake. Billy Bob Thornton, Joaquin Phoenix and Jon Voight are in the cast. Oliver Stone directed. An interesting example for anyone who likes noir and the mannered cinema of the 1990s. For a viewer who wants restraint, the film is visually exhausting and every character is repellent.