The Salton Sea (2002)

This great neo noir film was released in the spring of 2002 and failed to make a dent in the US box office. It then went straight to DVD in the rest of the world.

Why?

Possibly to do with the fact that there was very little advertising and the studio didn’t quite know how to market it. Or could it be the fact that people generally don’t flock to Val Kilmer films due to the difficult reputation he had in the late 90s?

Whatever, audiences missed out on a cracking little noir flick full of great performances and a kick ass soundtrack.

Playing like a cross between Memento and Spun the story starts with Val Kilmer’s character Tom sitting in his burning apartment playing the trumpet. From there we see in flashback that Tom has been living a twilight existence as a heavily tattooed speed addict or tweaker as they prefer to be known, called Danny Parker. Now why is Danny/Tom doing all this? We see that once he was a happily married jazz musician when one night at a desert motel; his wife was gunned down by a pair of masked men. Now he is out for revenge and Danny/Tom has followed the evidence to the underground speed scene in LA and is now working his way up to the top dogs all the while backed up by two cops who he informs for to keep him out of jail. This leads him into the path of the terrifying Pooh-Bear. A drug kingpin with no nose who dwells in the desert played by Vincent D’Onofrio as a terrifyingly unpredictable monster who could snap at any time, It also has a highly disturbing scene involving a badger in a cage than will make all male audiences tense up.

The first thing you notice about this film is how well its shot. From the hazy opening as an apartment burns down, to the bright garish apartment where the tweakers spend their nights. Its also a very funny film. Adam Goldberg (who has a great scene where he details his doomed plan to hold Bob Hopes stool sample to ransom) and Peter Saarsgard are both very good here, playing a spaced out tweaker and Danny’s closest speed freak pal who has no idea of Danny’s real mission.

Despite its dark subject matter and twisty plot the film doesn’t outstay its welcome and clocks in at a lean mean 99 minutes. It’s a film that draws you in almost hypnotically and the ending is even strangely moving. If there is a criticism that can be levelled at this lost movie then it’s that it’s obviously a debut feature. It was directed by DJ Caruso; a producer on John Badham’s early 90s films. The humour in the film whilst amusing sits a little awkwardly with the dark subject matter and some of the editing feels a little showy. Caruso went on to direct the Angelina Jolie serial killer film Taking Lives and has yet to make a film that lives up to the promise he shows here.

If you enjoyed the recent A Scanner Darkly or detective movies in general then you should definitely check this out. Otherwise if you are stuck for something to rent and feel your gaze wandering over to the archive section at Blockbuster then you will definitely get your money's worth.

With thanks to Chris Holt for the review