The Salton Sea (2002)

After his wife is murdered, a man drifts into a world populated by thugs and speed junkies.

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writer:

Tony Gayton

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Goldberg

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Val Kilmer	...	Danny Parker / Tom Van Allen
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Pooh-Bear
Adam Goldberg	...	Kujo
Luis Guzmán	...	Quincy
Doug Hutchison	...	Gus Morgan
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Al Garcetti
Glenn Plummer	...	Bobby
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Jimmy the Finn
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Colette
Chandra West	...	Liz
BD Wong	...	Bubba
R. Lee Ermey	...	Verne Plummer
Shalom Harlow	...	Nancy
Shirley Knight	...	Nancy Plummer
Meat Loaf	...	Bo

Storyline

After the murder of his beloved wife, Danny Parker is set adrift in a world where nothing is as it seems. On his journey he befriends slacker Jimmy the Finn and becomes involved in rescuing his neighbor Colette from her own demons. Danny is antagonized by undercover narcotics agents and sadistic dealer Pooh-Bear.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | neighbor | undercover | punk haircut | police officer killed | 

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Taglines:

If You're Looking For The Truth, You've Come To The Wrong Place.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, drug use, language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [ca] Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 2002 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Salton Sea

Filming Locations:

St. Vincent Catholic Church - 621 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,864 (Europe) (11 October 2002)

Gross:

$334,276 (Europe) (11 October 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Darkwoods Productions, Humble Journey Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

R. Lee Ermey, Shirley Knight:  as the parents of Tom's late wife.

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Goofs

When listing the ingredients needed to manufacture methamphetamine, Tom/Danny states that match heads are needed for the red phosphorus - in fact, the phosphorus is located in the striking surface of the matchbooks.

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Quotes

Danny: Oh, shit, what is this? Am I dead? Linoleum? This must be hell. Oh no, what a cliche. I've had some time to think about it and it's pretty simple after all. I think it's like the man said, "Man is the measure of all things." I should know. I ran the gamut. Tom Van Allen got his revenge. Good for Tom. And Danny Parker? He got gut-shot for being a lowlife rat. That sucks for him. As far I'm concerned, they're both dead. So who is this guy? Tell you the truth, I still don't know. But I like his ...

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Crazy Credits

Credits end with this statement: If you or someone you know has a substance abuse problem, or to find out about treatment programs near you, call the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP or to find out more about methamphetamine visit SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information's web site at www.health.org.

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Connections

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Walk On The Wild Side"
Written and Performed by Lou Reed
Courtesy of The RCA Music Group, a unit of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Great movie, it's just that simple...

This movie was great, this time I'm actually glad I took the Blockbuster guy's advice and rented it. It's not like LOTR or a Rocky movie where you come out feeling like you're on top of the world, but you will feel spun like by a great rollercoaster. I wouldn't say it starts off slow, but it definitely eases you into things, then move on to the drug fests and the story starts to take shape, but without really revealing itself all at once. As you watch more, you get that much more involved and gripped. I found myself really captured by the movie to the point of having anxiety myself in some of the Poo bear scenes. So towards the end I was strapped to my chair waiting to see what was going to happen, I did care about Kilmer's character, and I loved it how the movie keeps you guessing and on your seat till the end. Being such a dark movie though, it wouldn't have been so memorable for me if the ending had been different.

Kilmer's performance was good and he held his own, but Vincent D'Onofrio was brilliant in his role of Poo bear. I also liked the scene with Bobby `hobby' as it was definitely memorable.

I loved this movie, but as other reviews have said, if you are faint of heart then this movie is not for you. It is dark, druggy, very pawn scum of life kind of thing, and you watch it with your guts in a knot for some of the movie, but it's worth the knot I tell you! Did I mention that I liked the ending too? Even though it was a dark movie overall, I left with the sensation of `Damn that was a good movie…'