U Turn (1997)
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59% of critics liked it
(49 reviews) -
57% of users liked it
(30,823 ratings)
Oliver Stone directed this John Ridley screenplay adapted from Ridley's novel Stray Dogs. A drifter (Sean Penn) eludes Las Vegas collection agents and arrives in a small town where he decides to linger after his car has a breakdown. Here he gets involved with the locals, including an unhappily… More Oliver Stone directed this John Ridley screenplay adapted from Ridley's novel Stray Dogs. A drifter (Sean Penn) eludes Las Vegas collection agents and arrives in a small town where he decides to linger after his car has a breakdown. Here he gets involved with the locals, including an unhappily married couple -- a businessman (Nick Nolte) and his seductive, femme-fatale wife (Jennifer Lopez). A trailer trash teen (Claire Danes) also approaches him in an effort to get away from her abusive boyfriend (Joaquin Phoenix). Tensions in the town escalate, eventually leading to murder. Stone wanted to change the title from U-Turn back to Stray Dogs but encountered a problem with Akira Kurosawa, who felt it was too similar to his detective classic, Stray Dog (1949) with Toshiro Mifune. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Oliver Stone
- Written By
- John Ridley
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Oct 3, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
The stylistic fun Stone has in dramatizing this crime of passion thoroughly revitalizes the well-worked genre.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Penn turns in a crisp, unfussy comic performance, Lopez vamps like a scorpion in heat, Nolte sustains a pretty good John Huston impression, and Thornton is mighty peculiar as the mechanic from hell.
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Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
It's a disappointing ride.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
It's so empty emotionally it's difficult to see what the point is, unless it's the celebration of emptiness, an aim that has become so familiar recently it hardly seems worth the trouble everyone has gone to.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
U-Turn becomes a showcase for the filmmaker's terrific arsenal of visual mannerisms and free-association imagery.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Sean Penn
as Bobby Cooper
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Nick Nolte
as Jake McKenna
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Jennifer Lopez
as Grace McKenna
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Powers Boothe
as Sheriff Potter
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Claire Danes
as Jenny
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Joaquin Phoenix
as Toby N. Tucker
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Billy Bob Thornton
as Darrell
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Jon Voight
as Blind Man
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Abraham Benrubi
as Biker #1
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Julie Hagerty
as Flo
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Bo Hopkins
as Ed
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Valery Nikolaev
as Mr. Arkady
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Ilia Volokh
as Sergei
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Aida Linares
as Jamilla
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Laurie Metcalf
as Bus Station Clerk
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Liv Tyler
as Girl in Bus Station

