The Salton Sea (2002)

Featured Audience Ratings

• William D

  
  Fans of "Drive," take note: A small movie from 2002 that got far less attention than it deserved, "The Salton Sea," starring Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Peter Sarsgaard, is a moody, gritty neo-noir worthy of comparison to "Drive." It's… More
  Fans of "Drive," take note: A small movie from 2002 that got far less attention than it deserved, "The Salton Sea," starring Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Peter Sarsgaard, is a moody, gritty neo-noir worthy of comparison to "Drive." It's nowhere near as good as "Drive," but it's pretty darn good, with a haunting, brooding performance from Kilmer that will stay with you and a scary performance from D'Onofrio that reminded me of Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet." Like "Drive," this film has a lot of toughness and violence, but also an immense amount of heart -- and some moments of dazzling, jazzy style. Summarizing the plot runs the risk of spoiling the many surprises that the story contains. So I'll just say that the main character (Kilmer) is a loving, easy-going jazz musician who stumbles into a den of vipers and has to find the wherewithal to defend himself against their depredations. It's a rare treat to find a thriller (or any movie, really) built around a protagonist who's a musician. The weaknesses lie in the film's editing. It's just a bit too languid too often. Also, the central tragedy at the center of the plot is presented in a gauzy, sentimental way, giving this dark film an almost sugary center. This central tragedy also struck me as too much like a hackneyed plot device. It just felt a bit too conventional. But "Salton Sea" is definitely worth your time and deserves something of a cult following. I keep hearing D'Onofrio's meth-fueled pig sounds somewhere in my head. I can't make it stop. I also keep hearing the sound of the beautiful jazz trumpet that the main character plays as his home burns around him. Bravo to the whole cast and to director D.J. Caruso ("Taking Lives," "Disturbia").

• Daniel J D

  
  Frank Darabont, can you do no wrong? As for you, Mr. Caruso, why'd you stop making good movies after this? Also, Spun, you suck for stealing camera techniques from this movie.

• Conner R

  
  Really great. The plot is really smart, just when you think you know what's going on, it flips around completely. Val Kilmer was amazing, I haven't seen him give a performance like this since his Jim Morrison. DJ Caruso is great at giving these really personal stories that,… More
  Really great. The plot is really smart, just when you think you know what's going on, it flips around completely. Val Kilmer was amazing, I haven't seen him give a performance like this since his Jim Morrison. DJ Caruso is great at giving these really personal stories that, under someone else's hands, might come off as corny. He makes his films have a true sense of meaning, as well as a decent amount of fun.

• Wahida K

  
  If You're Looking for a nice MOVIE you are on wrong address. This Movie is Horrible, I dont want to go in to details. The plot of messed up, the bad guys. Val Kilmer was Awful. Just Terrible Movie.

• Tsubaki S

  
  Val Kilmer playing the trumpet with fire on the background, in sloooow motion, can't sustain an entire movie. The cast is good and could have been used for something way better.

• Luke B

  
  A dire piece of filmmaking. It seems as though Caruso has found his true calling in films for the teenage market, as this has immaturity written all over it. Like some dark teen boy's view of the world, crime and cops after watching too many modern Noir's. Kilmer… More
  A dire piece of filmmaking. It seems as though Caruso has found his true calling in films for the teenage market, as this has immaturity written all over it. Like some dark teen boy's view of the world, crime and cops after watching too many modern Noir's. Kilmer doesn't convince and the twists seem desperate. Caruso displays no end of style, in a visual sense, but he also goes overboard and too stylized, especially where violence is concerned.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"If You're Looking For The Truth, You've Come To The Wrong Place."</i> After his wife is murdered, a man drifts into a world populated by thugs and speed junkies. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"If You're Looking For The Truth, You've Come To The Wrong Place."</i> After his wife is murdered, a man drifts into a world populated by thugs and speed junkies. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Good depiction of the wasted life in the happy drug underworld, in which it would have made a good story, but there is a underlying revenge subplot that is not revealed until the second half. It goes into the mind of how a person who has lost everything would risk what he has left to get back at those who made him get there in the first place. The movie first deplicted the junkie's culture, then went on to show how they are so absorbed by it that they don't even have a normal life to escape to. The whole dark, wasted scenery gives a dark portrayal of what the main character's is willing to submit himself to, and his single mindedness, in order to do what he thinks is just. His only weakness is when he opens up to someone that is in more dire situation than him, which turns out to be a trap laid out for him. Val Kilmer in one of his best roles so far, D'Onofrio is good as the menacing dealer, Peter Sarsgaard is good as the friend to the end whom you don't know if he was going to forgive his best friend, who turned out to hiding his true intentions. All in all, a film very worth watching.

• Aaron N

  
  Danny: So that's where I found myself. No, I should choose my words more wisely. This is the world I sought out. The land of the perpetual night party. Day swallowing night and night swallowing day. The crank compressing time like some defying piston on its awesome downstroke.… More
  Danny: So that's where I found myself. No, I should choose my words more wisely. This is the world I sought out. The land of the perpetual night party. Day swallowing night and night swallowing day. The crank compressing time like some defying piston on its awesome downstroke. We've been at this for three days... or is it four? Tweakers, lokers, slammers, coming and going, swearing eternal allegiance and undying love for one another, only to wake up after the binge and realize you wouldn't walk across the street to piss on one of them if their head was on fire. Three days. Or is it four? I know what you're thinking, but don't give up on me just yet. Just wait 'til I've told my whole story. And keep your eyes open. Nothing is as it seems. A drug-filled, double plotted, neo-noir with lots of style. Val Kilmer stars as a man of two lives, that is slowly revealed through the movie. He gives a good performance that is nicely layered. The story involves his decent into the drug underworld in order to unearth those of a guilty past crime. Bobby: Excuse me. I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean. Along with the neatly done story, what also helps is the wide variety of supporting actors there are in this film. This includes Vincent D'Onofrio as Pooh Bear, once again showing his dedication to portraying a character. This crazy, sick villain is a drug dealer, who has lost the front of his nose to doing so much drugs, and among the things he does to pass time, has a reenactment of a certain moment in history in his front yard that is hysterical. These things are mixed well with other scenes showing how sadistic this guy can be. Peter Sarsgaard is Jimmy, Kilmer's naive best friend and works well to provide support for Kilmer's mostly depressed character. Finn: They say he hasn't slept in like over a year. Danny: Bullshit! Finn: Naw, it's true. I've never seen him sleep. Seriously. Danny: Have you ever seen Queen Elizabeth sleep? Finn: No, why, is she a tweaker? Danny: [pause] Yes. That's my point. Adam Goldberg has only a handful of scenes, but his main part is one of the highlights of the film. And then Luis Guzman is here as another low life, and that's always welcome. Director D.J. Caruso, working very well in the low budget film scene, has a well made movie here, that has lots of style, while managing a number of quirky characters in order to blend various aspects of dark comedy and drama. It's a well paced revenge/drug drama, complete with a hip/jazzy soundtrack, that blends into the world of speed freaks. Danny: For the people who don't do drugs, or just do them occasionally, it's something that becomes your life, and you belong. You finally hit bottom and you know who you are, because you can't go any lower. When you find... a friendship that you wouldn't have found anywhere else. Still and all, there's a kind of intimacy with those that can go the distance. Sometimes you see the world so clearly... and you know just what to do, and just when to do it. Just what you should've done, and when you should've done it.

• Lenny M

  
  Val Kilmer trying to get dark.

• Lady D

  
  I can't say, like many have, that this film was fantastic, maybe if the rest of the film had been as good as the ending, having said that I enjoyed it and there are certain scenes that will stick with me

• Emily A

  
  Again, I'm a sucker for a movie peopled with freaks and this one certainly qualifies. As Danny descends into the very screwed-up world of meth addicts to investigate the death of his wife, he himself succumbs to that world and his quest becomes hindered as it screws him up.… More
  Again, I'm a sucker for a movie peopled with freaks and this one certainly qualifies. As Danny descends into the very screwed-up world of meth addicts to investigate the death of his wife, he himself succumbs to that world and his quest becomes hindered as it screws him up. It's quirky and funny and tragic - doing each one equally well and giving them equal weight.

• Jens S

  
  Great cinematography, clever ending. Well done. And doesn't make drugs look cool.

• Mike T

  
  Modern film noir that takes us on a dizzying, drug-littered ride and provides us with an entertaining story along the way.

• Steve S

  
  The Salton Sea is a slightly far-fetched, but reasonably clever and original thriller about a guys whose girlfriend is murdered by drug crime figures. He takes on an assumed life as a meth-head to ensnare the culprits, having many close scrapes and bizarre encounters with total… More
  The Salton Sea is a slightly far-fetched, but reasonably clever and original thriller about a guys whose girlfriend is murdered by drug crime figures. He takes on an assumed life as a meth-head to ensnare the culprits, having many close scrapes and bizarre encounters with total degenerates along the way. The most redemptive aspect to the movie is not the revenge tale, but the characterization of the total sickos he meets along the way, such as the big meth dealer who has a prosthetic nose and likes to reenact the Kennedy killing with a mock-up of Dealy Plaza and remote controlled cars passengered with captive pigeons -which he then assassinates with a high powered rifle. Sensitive.

• Brett W

  
  The Salton Sea is a very good film, in fact it had all the pieces necessary which should have set it up to be a classic of the 00s; intense themes, competent cast, and rich visual aesthetic. It smoothly flows in and out of Danny's multi-tiered world, drawing us into his intensely… More
  The Salton Sea is a very good film, in fact it had all the pieces necessary which should have set it up to be a classic of the 00s; intense themes, competent cast, and rich visual aesthetic. It smoothly flows in and out of Danny's multi-tiered world, drawing us into his intensely lost but singular purposed life. With great care Val Kilmer plays a man who's been hurt to the very core of his being and now sinks into the molds necessary to achieve his goal. His tragedy is now his reason for being, it's what pulls him through existence. That's not to say he's a nihilist character since we're also shown a man who, despite having little of it left, is capable of great compassion. Unfortunately what tethers this film to the ground and keeps it from soaring is the very foundation for the majority of events which take place here. For one, the inciting incident requires a great deal of suspended belief. He and his wife just-so-happened to stop at a drug dealer's house for directions. Not only that but they both go inside and have a chat instead of one of them just going up to quickly ask. Sure, this happens all the time. AND, on top of that, two masked killers just-so-happen to attack while they're there. Ok. The other minor structural flaws are the ways in which we are not shown Danny getting involved with the various DEA and FBI organizations. The writers just took for granted that we would care, or that it would make sense that one can so easily fall into their employ. If only the crux of the overall plot hadn't been taken for granted or skimmed over or whatever, Salton Sea could have had a stronger impact instead of the result; a rich but lopsided story, a mansion balancing on the thinnest of beams.

• Lee K

  
  I will probably watch anything with Val Kilmer in it, strange little movie however it was entertaining. Also co-stars vincent donofrio who seems to be very good at charector acting.

• matt s

  
  Drivel.

• Quinto W

  
  The film has probably the most beautiful opening any film has ever had, but then it's ruined by Val Kilmer's narration (not his fault, the entire movie has cringe-worthy dialogue) and an unengaging and monotone story. The only saving graces are the visual style and amazing… More
  The film has probably the most beautiful opening any film has ever had, but then it's ruined by Val Kilmer's narration (not his fault, the entire movie has cringe-worthy dialogue) and an unengaging and monotone story. The only saving graces are the visual style and amazing performances by Vincent D'Onorfio and Peter Sarsgaard, who plays the most loveable meth addict ever on screen.

• Leo L

  
  Great movie!! Love it!

• nathometer

  
  One of my favorite Val Kilmer movies. I thought he did a great job and this movie althought depressing is of high quality. The plot was interesting enough

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