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Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Goldberg, Doug Hutchison, Shirley Knight ... see more see more... , Anthony LaPaglia , Meat Loaf , Glenn Plummer , Danny Trejo , Deborah Kara Unger , Chandra West , B.D. Wong , R. Lee Ermey , Luis Guzman , Shalom Harlow , Peter Sarsgaard , Azura Skye , Josh Todd

The feature film debut of producer and TV director D.J. Caruso, this pulpy noir mystery is a dark tale of redemption set among southern California crystal methamphetamine "tweakers." Val Kilmer stars ... read more read more...as Danny Parker, a former trumpet player who has become a tattooed speed freak living in a cesspool of murderous dealers and hardcore addicts near the desert lake of the title. Danny's fall from grace is the result of a hidden agenda, however -- he's seeking answers about the murder of his beloved wife. He's also working undercover for a pair of brutal narcotics cops (Anthony Lapaglia and Doug Hutchison), while trying to rescue his beautiful neighbor Colette (Deborah Kara Unger) from an abusive situation and her own demons. As he and his slacker buddy Jimmy the Fin (Peter Sarsgaard) are antagonized by the sadistic, noseless dealer Pooh Bear (Vincent D'Onofrio) and his henchman, Danny draws closer to the truth about his wife's death, but the crime's solution isn't quite what he expected. Produced by Frank Darabont, The Salton Sea co-stars Adam Goldberg, Meat Loaf, Luis Guzman, and Azura Skye. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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80% liked it

20,370 ratings

Critics

62% liked it

85 critics

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: D.J. Caruso

Release Date: April 26, 2002

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DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002

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Stats: 1,298 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,298)

  • dunmyer
    January 29, 2012
    dunmyer
    Fans of "Drive," take note: A small movie from 2002 that got far less attention than it deserved, "The Salton Sea," starring Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Peter Sarsgaard, is a moody, gritty neo-noir worthy of comparison to "Drive." It's nowhere near as good as "Drive," but ... read moreit's pretty darn good, with a haunting, brooding performance from Kilmer that will stay with you and a scary performance from D'Onofrio that reminded me of Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet."

    Like "Drive," this film has a lot of toughness and violence, but also an immense amount of heart -- and some moments of dazzling, jazzy style.

    Summarizing the plot runs the risk of spoiling the many surprises that the story contains. So I'll just say that the main character (Kilmer) is a loving, easy-going jazz musician who stumbles into a den of vipers and has to find the wherewithal to defend himself against their depredations. It's a rare treat to find a thriller (or any movie, really) built around a protagonist who's a musician.

    The weaknesses lie in the film's editing. It's just a bit too languid too often. Also, the central tragedy at the center of the plot is presented in a gauzy, sentimental way, giving this dark film an almost sugary center. This central tragedy also struck me as too much like a hackneyed plot device. It just felt a bit too conventional.

    But "Salton Sea" is definitely worth your time and deserves something of a cult following. I keep hearing D'Onofrio's meth-fueled pig sounds somewhere in my head. I can't make it stop. I also keep hearing the sound of the beautiful jazz trumpet that the main character plays as his home burns around him. Bravo to the whole cast and to director D.J. Caruso ("Taking Lives," "Disturbia").
  • djdemersseman
    May 22, 2011
    djdemersseman
    Frank Darabont, can you do no wrong? As for you, Mr. Caruso, why'd you stop making good movies after this? Also, Spun, you suck for stealing camera techniques from this movie.
  • ythelastman89
    January 6, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Really great. The plot is really smart, just when you think you know what's going on, it flips around completely. Val Kilmer was amazing, I haven't seen him give a performance like this since his Jim Morrison. DJ Caruso is great at giving these really personal stories that, under... read more someone else's hands, might come off as corny. He makes his films have a true sense of meaning, as well as a decent amount of fun.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 15, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    If You're Looking for a nice MOVIE you are on wrong address. This Movie is Horrible, I dont want to go in to details. The plot of messed up, the bad guys. Val Kilmer was Awful. Just Terrible Movie.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    November 8, 2009
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Val Kilmer playing the trumpet with fire on the background, in sloooow motion, can't sustain an entire movie. The cast is good and could have been used for something way better.
  • kiriyamakazou
    November 6, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    A dire piece of filmmaking. It seems as though Caruso has found his true calling in films for the teenage market, as this has immaturity written all over it. Like some dark teen boy's view of the world, crime and cops after watching too many modern Noir's. Kilmer doesn't convince... read more and the twists seem desperate. Caruso displays no end of style, in a visual sense, but he also goes overboard and too stylized, especially where violence is concerned.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    May 21, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "If You're Looking For The Truth, You've Come To The Wrong Place."

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

    REVIEW

    Good depiction of the ... read morewasted life in the happy drug underworld, in which it would have made a good story, but there is a underlying revenge subplot that is not revealed until the second half. It goes into the mind of how a person who has lost everything would risk what he has left to get back at those who made him get there in the first place.

    The movie first deplicted the junkie's culture, then went on to show how they are so absorbed by it that they don't even have a normal life to escape to. The whole dark, wasted scenery gives a dark portrayal of what the main character's is willing to submit himself to, and his single mindedness, in order to do what he thinks is just. His only weakness is when he opens up to someone that is in more dire situation than him, which turns out to be a trap laid out for him. Val Kilmer in one of his best roles so far, D'Onofrio is good as the menacing dealer, Peter Sarsgaard is good as the friend to the end whom you don't know if he was going to forgive his best friend, who turned out to hiding his true intentions.

    All in all, a film very worth watching.
  • DrZeek
    September 30, 2008
    DrZeek
    Danny: So that's where I found myself. No, I should choose my words more wisely. This is the world I sought out. The land of the perpetual night party. Day swallowing night and night swallowing day. The crank compressing time like some defying piston on its awesome downstroke. We... read more've been at this for three days... or is it four? Tweakers, lokers, slammers, coming and going, swearing eternal allegiance and undying love for one another, only to wake up after the binge and realize you wouldn't walk across the street to piss on one of them if their head was on fire. Three days. Or is it four? I know what you're thinking, but don't give up on me just yet. Just wait 'til I've told my whole story. And keep your eyes open. Nothing is as it seems.

    A drug-filled, double plotted, neo-noir with lots of style.

    Val Kilmer stars as a man of two lives, that is slowly revealed through the movie. He gives a good performance that is nicely layered. The story involves his decent into the drug underworld in order to unearth those of a guilty past crime.

    Bobby: Excuse me. I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.

    Along with the neatly done story, what also helps is the wide variety of supporting actors there are in this film.

    This includes Vincent D'Onofrio as Pooh Bear, once again showing his dedication to portraying a character. This crazy, sick villain is a drug dealer, who has lost the front of his nose to doing so much drugs, and among the things he does to pass time, has a reenactment of a certain moment in history in his front yard that is hysterical. These things are mixed well with other scenes showing how sadistic this guy can be.

    Peter Sarsgaard is Jimmy, Kilmer's naive best friend and works well to provide support for Kilmer's mostly depressed character.

    Finn: They say he hasn't slept in like over a year.
    Danny: Bullshit!
    Finn: Naw, it's true. I've never seen him sleep. Seriously.
    Danny: Have you ever seen Queen Elizabeth sleep?
    Finn: No, why, is she a tweaker?
    Danny: [pause] Yes. That's my point.

    Adam Goldberg has only a handful of scenes, but his main part is one of the highlights of the film.

    And then Luis Guzman is here as another low life, and that's always welcome.

    Director D.J. Caruso, working very well in the low budget film scene, has a well made movie here, that has lots of style, while managing a number of quirky characters in order to blend various aspects of dark comedy and drama.

    It's a well paced revenge/drug drama, complete with a hip/jazzy soundtrack, that blends into the world of speed freaks.

    Danny: For the people who don't do drugs, or just do them occasionally, it's something that becomes your life, and you belong. You finally hit bottom and you know who you are, because you can't go any lower. When you find... a friendship that you wouldn't have found anywhere else. Still and all, there's a kind of intimacy with those that can go the distance. Sometimes you see the world so clearly... and you know just what to do, and just when to do it. Just what you should've done, and when you should've done it.
  • Chiefilms
    March 3, 2008
    Chiefilms
    Val Kilmer trying to get dark.
  • 76Majikat
    April 26, 2007
    76Majikat
    I can't say, like many have, that this film was fantastic, maybe if the rest of the film had been as good as the ending, having said that I enjoyed it and there are certain scenes that will stick with me

View All The Salton Sea Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bruce Westbrook
August 23, 2002
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

Repellent yet intriguing, brutal yet funny, wicked yet strangely compassionate, The Salton Sea is more about mixing genres and styles than illuminating a credible reality. Full Review

Robert K. Elder
July 20, 2002
Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

Sacrificing content for style, Caruso gives us a lot to look at but little to ponder. Full Review

Steven Rosen
July 12, 2002
Steven Rosen, Denver Post

For what it is, it's well-done -- a stylized-beyond-reality derivation of Natural Born Killers, perhaps. Or a more gonzo version of Go or Blow. But the heart has been stylized out of it. Full Review

Sam Allis
July 12, 2002
Sam Allis, Boston Globe

If there's no art here, it's still a good yarn -- which is nothing to sneeze at these days. Full Review

Joe Baltake
June 28, 2002
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

It has the ability to offend and put off everyone, but it holds you with its outrageousness. Full Review

James Berardinelli
May 21, 2002
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

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 crimin... Full Review

Hank Stuever
May 17, 2002
Hank Stuever, Washington Post

Lovable absurdity is the saving grace of a drug movie, and on the rare occasion that this genre works, the head trip winds up being a worthwhile journey.

Desson Thomson
May 17, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Too slick and manufactured to claim street credibility.

Roger Ebert
May 17, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I liked it because it was so endlessly, grotesquely, inventive. Full Review

Gary Dowell
May 16, 2002
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

By and large this is Mr. Kilmer's movie, and it's his strongest performance since The Doors. Full Review

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  • Who starred in The Salton Sea, The Cell, Imposter, and Men in Back?  Answer »
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  • In What movie did Val Kilmer start taking Meth to find his wifes killers?  Answer »
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