The Salton Sea Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)May 21st, 2002
"The Salton Sea"
A man sits in silhouette against the backdrop of an out-of-control blaze. He wears a fedora and plays a jazzy number on his trumpet like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned. The resigned voiceover by Danny Parker (Val Kilmer) tells his story about a man in crisis, struggling with his present and past as he asks the audience and himself, "Who am I?" This begins the complicated character study that plunges us into the abyss of crystal methamphetimine addiction and a journey of redemption in "The Salton Sea."
First-time feature helmer D.J. Caruso takes the imaginative screenplay by Tony Gayton and, with the talented Kilmer and an outstanding supporting cast, builds a complex story about a man who appears to be a burned out "tweaker," an abuser of crystal meth who loses track of days of time as he and his friends binge out on "gak." But, as we watch Danny work up a big deal with the local meth baron, Pooh Bear (Vincent D'Onofrio), we learn that there is more to the man than just drugs.
As the plans for the deal develop we learn of the many facets of Danny Parker. At one point in his past he was happily married to beautiful Liz (Chandra West) until a misbegotten stop, while on vacation, to get directions. The couple unknowingly pick the home of meth dealers for help and things end in tragedy when a pair of masked gunmen attack the place and Danny must helplessly watch as on of the killers summarily execute Liz before his eyes. Jump to the present and we find that Danny works, under duress, for a pair of corrupt cops, Garcetti and Morgan (Anthony LaPaglia and Doug Hutchison), who are looking for their own score against drug lord Pooh-Bear. Meanwhile, Danny is trying to muster the cash for the drug deal with the help of Asian cowboy Bubba (B.D. Wong)
This is a little, independent effort that benefits from a number of qualities. Val Kilmer, for instance, gives a complex character study on his Danny persona. He is a man that, emotionally, is a meth tweaker and dealer trying to put together a big score. His duality, and the strains it imposes on him, is laid out gradually as the film progresses. Danny is not just another meth slammer and there are sides to the character that unfold as we delve deeper into his life. He is weaving a tapestry but we don't know, at first, just what kind of fabric he is creating. Danny is rousted time and again by a pair of corrupt cops, but is working for a slick Asian cowboy whose own agenda unfolds as we watch the film
Vincent D'Onofrio, as meth dealer Pooh Bear, reps one of the most imaginative bad guys in film these days. The noseless dealer - he snorted too much of his own product and his proboscis fell off - is ruthless, amusing (he stages a reenactment of the Kennedy assassinations with a small radio controlled car with pigeons sitting in for the doomed president, first lady, etc.) and uncontrollably violent.
The rest of the cast is also first rate, especially Peter Sarsgaard as Danny's best friend Jimmy "The Finn." Jimmy is a simple, innocent young man who quite literally loves his friend and will do anything for him. Deborah Kara Unger ("The Game") has terrific presence even though she is underutilized in a plotline that seems tacked on. She is the abused lover of Quincy (Luis Guzman) that the widowed and lonely Danny falls for even though their possible relationship goes unrequited.
The script, like the character Danny, is complex and needs your attention as the lead character's story weaves intricately through the film. The music, particularly the soulful trumpet tunes that bookend the film, is first rate and fits the funky mood of the film.
"The Salton Sea," like previous drug addiction-related film like "Requiem for a Dream" and "Trainspotting," is not an easy flick as it shows us the denizens that inhabit the underbelly of society and all their corruptions. I give it a B-
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