The Salton Sea (2002)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writer (WGA):

Tony Gayton (written by)

Release Date:

21 June 2002 (Ireland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Neighbor | Murder | Undercover | Shot In The Leg | Sting Operation

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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
B.D. Wong	...	Bubba
R. Lee Ermey	...	Verne Plummer
Shalom Harlow	...	Nancy
Shirley Knight	...	Nancy Plummer
Meat Loaf	...	Bo

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

103 min | Spain:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (No. 38029) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (nf) | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Peter Sarsgaard's character is based on a real person who was a meth user in Riverside and according to D.J. Caruso "Just wanted to be liked".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There is no needle on the syringe when Val jams it into the cop's neck.

Quotes:

Danny: How do you know you're doing the right thing, Finn?
Finn: I dunno, like... people around you are happy, you know, they say thank you and stuff, right...? Just go with the Flow... you know?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in White Noise (2005)

Soundtrack:

My Weakness

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…'