Cast: Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Goldberg, Luis Guzman, Doug Hutchison, Anthony LaPaglia, Peter Sarsgaard, Deborah Kara Unger
Director: D.J. Caruso
Producers: Ken Aguado, Frank Darabont, Eriq La Salle, Butch Robinson
Screenplay: Tony Gayton
Cinematography: Amir M. Mokri
Music: Thomas Newman
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
The Salton Sea is a thriller with an edge - which is to say that it doesn't follow the stale, standard, connect-the-dots storyline which has become commonplace in movies that explore the seamy underbelly of the criminal world. Some of the elements found here are familiar - strung-out punks, dangerous drug dealers, corrupt cops, cynical FBI agents, flash-forwards, and red herrings - but screenwriter Tony Gayton and director D.J. Caruso find interesting ways to employ them. To a certain extent, The Salton Sea reminded me of last year's Memento (perhaps crossed with Requiem for a Dream), although its construction and presentation are not as radical. But this movie, like Christopher Nolan's mind-bending, backwards-is-forwards tale, questions the nature of identity, develops a complex revenge plot, and doesn't play its final hand until late in the proceedings. And, unlike in many thrillers, the movie doesn't sandbag us with one last, cheap twist at the end. The Salton Sea contains its share of surprises, but none of them feels forced or artificial.
The movie opens with a fascinating account of the history of speed (meth) since World War II, then takes us into the world of Danny Parker (Val Kilmer), who resides in the "land of the perpetual night party". At first, Danny appears to be just another user. He and his buddies, Jimmy (Peter Sarsgaard) and Kujo (Adam Goldberg) seem to have nothing better to do than hang out, absorb the punk/goth scene, and do drugs. But there's more to Danny than meets the eye - much more. In the first place, his real name is Tom Van Allen, or at least that used to be his real name. He is haunted by memories of a beautiful wife, who may or may not be real. And Danny is a police informant for a pair of crooked cops - Morgan (Doug Hutchison) and Garcetti (Anthony LaPaglia). He's also trying to make one last big score from a dealer named Pooh Bear (Vincent D'Onofrio), so he can vanish into obscurity. Or is he? The pieces don't all quite fit, and director Caruso is keeping the last one tantalizingly out of reach until he's ready to finish the puzzle.
While the strength of The Salton Sea is its serpentine plot, the movie also has a nice noir look. Caruso goes a little overboard in applying a distinctive visual varnish to the product by employing a variety of camera tricks (including time lapse photography, fades, etc.), but he stays clear of the ego masturbation that is common with filmmakers like Oliver Stone. For the most part, Caruso's unconventional moments work. For example, there's a strangely funny scene in which a group of drugged-out characters plot a crime while the director playfully shows the debacle that would likely result if they carried it out. This sequence could have been lifted directly from Monty Python. It takes guts to include something this bizarre, yet it fits. There's no disconnect or sense that it should be expunged.
Although Danny doesn't lose his memory the way Leonard did in Memento, both characters are victims of a fragmented identity. Danny doesn't know who he his. He has lied and pretended for so long that he no longer knows truth from fiction. He has lost the essence of himself and lives only for the two concrete pillars of his reality: redemption and revenge (the two "R"s of so many noir thrillers). Nothing else matters to him, and he would rather live in the past than in the future.
Val Kilmer, several years removed from the cusp of superstardom, gives an effectively low-key reading of Danny. It's a slow-burn performance - the same kind of approach that worked so well for Guy Pearce as Leonard in Memento. Vincent D'Onfrio is anything but low-key as he portrays yet another off-the-wall wacko. Anthony LaPaglia, despite not having a lot of screen time, steals scenes without saying anything. He radiates pure menace. Garcetti is one baaaaad cop.
The Salton Sea is dark, as befits its grim subject matter, but not unreasonably so. And it has a sense of humor, although only those with a penchant for warped jokes will absorb Caruso's stabs at comic relief. I would venture to say that most viewers who enjoyed Memento will appreciate what The Salton Sea has to offer. This thriller seems conventional until you start paying attention - and that's when the payoff occurs.
© 2002 James Berardinelli