Oliver Stone is becoming known as a filmmaker who brings us two types of movies. First, historical dramas from "Platoon" to "JFK" and second, odd new wave films like "Natural Born Killers" and "U-Turn." Occassionally he'll mix the two and end up with something like "The Doors." While his more mainstream films may be what brings him box office cash and industry acceptance, his more risky films surely bring him a feeling of greater personal achievement. It's nice to see such an accepted Director branch out and try new things. These are surely the type of films Stone dreamed of making when he was in film school. Of course, they also seem a little more sophomoric.

"U-Turn" is weird, but it isn't the story that makes it so. As a matter of fact the story is a direct rip-off of a film called "Red Rock West" that John Dahl made in 1992. This even though the screenplay is written by John Ridley, based on his own novel called "Stray Dogs." No, the film is unusual because Stone makes it so. He jump cuts throughout the film. At times the action seems edited with the hatchet that plays a part in the plot's first climax. Also, he lets the camera jiggle and move in and out of focus. He doesn't always sync up the sound with the visual. And, most importantly, he uses color like we've hardly seen before. The hues are rich and fuzzy, almost drenched in color. It looks unusual and different. It's other worldly but only in the sense that it's cinematically other worldly. Since the film is set in the desert, it's easy to say that the film color scheme seems somehow distorted by the desert heat.

Stone throws oddball actor Sean Penn into the lead and he reacts with his usual bad boy panache. Penn pops pills from the film's start so that the plot seems like it's one long hallucination. Then he rambles and slices his way through the movie like a man caught in a washing machine. When Penn meets Billy Bob Thorton's Dwayne at the film's beginning, we know were in for a really weird ride. It isn't long until we're treated to Jennifer Lopez as a sexy head game named Grace. And then we see Nick Nolte as her grizzled husband. The set-up doesn't take long to evolve after this. Plus were introduced to twisted subplots that involve Powers Boothe, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, and Juile Hagerty. Also, Laurie Metcalf and Liv Tyler stop by for a funny cameo.

But of all of this, Phoenix has the best of it. His Toby N. Tucker is vibrant and hysterical in a way that seems to literally pop out of the screen. His chemistry with Penn, who in many ways may be confronting his past, is crackling with explosive antagonism drenched in humor. Meanwhile, Dane's sugary ingenue gets to stand back and enjoy it as much as we do. And while Hagerty and Metcalf have only brief moments, they are like diamonds in the piece.

Ridley's script is filled with wonderful and hilarious dialogue. Much of this is doled out by Voight who gets to ham it up as a blind aging Indian. You can tell he's having a blast. Still, Penn gets the most biting line of all when he asks the irritating Thorton, "40,000 people die everyday. Why isn't one of them you?" Ironically, Thorton is one of the few who actually survives the film relatively unscathed.

"U-Turn" is one of the weirdest films you will ever see. Part of it's unique charm is it's western-tinged score by Ennio Morricone. Stone has fun with the music and the dialogue throughout the piece. But with it's new wave look and it's unusual characters, it's almost impossible to believe that the script is based on a novel. Too bad the plot seems like such a rehashed stinker. With a more unique storyline, Stone would have a masterpiece.

Note:

Almost until it's release, the film was known as "Stray Dogs," the title of the source novel. One might think that Stone changed it to distinguish it from a film called "Straw Dogs" from the 70's. But there was also a French film called "U-Turn" in that decade.

A discussion about Patsy Cline is a highlight in the dialogue.

10 days before shooting started, Bill Paxton stepped out of the lead. Penn, who had originally turned down the role, stepped in, even though he had just finished shooting "She's So Lovely" and "The Game." The 44 day shoot left him feeling a little bit disoriented. Stone thinks this helped his performance.

Ridley was banned from the set during shooting when Stone learned the novel was to be released before the film. Stone was afriad readers would be upset because the film was different from the book. The two later made up.

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