From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Salton Sea
The Salton Sea
The Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a 2002 American neo-noir film starring
Val Kilmer and Vincent D’Onofrio directed by D. J. Caru-
so.[2]
Plot
While playing the trumpet in a burning room, the protag-
onist’s voice is heard in narration. His story begins with
him posing as "Danny Parker", a speed freak addicted
to methamphetamine, who hangs out with friends while
indulging in drugs. He also moonlights as an informant
for two corrupt cops, Gus Morgan (Doug Hutchison) and
Al Garcetti (Anthony LaPaglia). He is trying to set up a
large meth score with notorious drug dealer Pooh Bear
(D’Onofrio), an eccentric psychopath who lost his nose to
excessive snorting of "Gack" (meth), while also attempt-
ing to set up a sting operation for Morgan and Garcetti.
When he returns home, Danny sheds his clothes and
his personality, and basks in his past life as trumpet play-
er "Tom Van Allen". He reveals to an abused neighbor
named Colette (Deborah Kara Unger) that he was once
Theatrical release poster happily married, only to watch as his wife was gunned
Directed by D. J. Caruso down by masked thieves during a stopover at the Salton
Sea.
Produced by Ken Aguado
When meeting with Pooh Bear, Danny becomes fear-
Frank Darabont
Eriq La Salle ful of Pooh Bear’s displays of bizarre homicidal behavior,
Butch Robinson so he tapes a gun to the bottom of a table.
Danny’s parents-in-law track him down, believing he
Written by Tony Gayton
has sunk into depression after his wife’s death, but he
Narrated by Val Kilmer tells them he doesn’t want their help. As the deal ap-
proaches, it becomes known that Danny is not only work-
Starring Val Kilmer
Vincent D’Onofrio ing for the police but FBI agents working to take down
Peter Sarsgaard Morgan and Garcetti, who have committed multiple mur-
ders. It is also revealed that they were the men who killed
Music by Thomas Newman
his wife and wounded him as they robbed a drug dealer.
Cinematography Amir Mokri Danny had started his own investigation when he found
out who Morgan was and delved into the drug under-
Editing by Jim Page
world to become a believable junkie.
Distributed by Warner Brothers On the night of the deal, Danny, with the help of his
Release date(s) April 26, 2002 (2002-04-26) (United best friend Jimmy (Peter Sarsgaard), leads the FBI to the
States) wrong location. Meanwhile, Danny arrives at Pooh Bear’s
house. At the dinner table, surrounded by Pooh Bear’s
Running time 103 minutes
armed friends, tensions rise and one of Pooh Bear’s men
Country United States tries to kill Danny, who retrieves the gun he stashed ear-
lier and shoots the rest of the gang. Shot in the chest by
Language English
Pooh Bear, Danny collapses to the floor.
Budget $18 million [1] Pooh Bear, wounded in the leg, goes to take a shot of
meth while mumbling incoherently. Morgan and Garcetti
arrive, find the massacre, and Garcetti kills Pooh Bear,
whose drug-filled hypo drops to the floor. Garcetti is then
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Salton Sea
killed by Danny, whose life was saved by a bulletproof
vest. Morgan is shot twice by Danny, who reveals to Mor- Critic Robert Koehler, writing in Variety magazine, also
gan that he knows he murdered his wife. Morgan man- gave the gave the film a mixed review, writing, "The lat-
ages to snatch Danny’s gun away, but finds it empty. Dan- est fashion, The Salton Sea strains past the breaking point
ny finds Pooh Bear’s syringe on the floor and plunges to provide the old genre with new couture. Tyro helmer
it into Morgan’s neck, then picks up a pistol and briefly D.J. Caruso appears compelled to strut his cinematic stuff
contemplates suicide, but then shoots Morgan several in every scene, whether called for or not, and in the
times and flees. process overplays his assignment."[4]
Back in his apartment, he dons his Tom Van Allen The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden be-
identity again, but is shot by Colette’s "boyfriend" (Luis lieves the film to be derivative, and wrote:
Guzman), who is actually a man Danny ratted out to the “ The Salton Sea, directed by D. J. Caruso from a ”
police. Collette says she was forced to betray Danny be- screenplay by Tony Gayton (who also wrote
cause her daughter was being held hostage. The room the recent Murder by Numbers), blatantly recy-
catches fire, and Danny plays one more tune on his trum- cles moods and images from other recent
pet before passing out. films and compacts them into a formula of its
He regains consciousness to find that Jimmy has own. From Heat it borrows a noirish twilighted
saved him from the fire and taken him to a hospital. After despair; from Pulp Fiction, a fondness for
he recovers, he leaves the city, and the identities of Dan- grotesque caricature; from Requiem for a
ny and Tom, behind. Dream, a contortedly druggy ambience; and
from Fight Club a surrealist bravado and
Cast choked-back super-macho cool. All that bor-
rowing lends The Salton Sea style to burn but
• Val Kilmer as Danny Parker/Tom Van Allen little personality of its own.[5]
• Vincent D’Onofrio as Pooh-Bear
• Adam Goldberg as Kujo
Slate film critic David Edelstein reviewed the work of ac-
• Luis Guzmán as Quincy
tor Val Kilmer favorably, writing:
• Doug Hutchison as Gus Morgan
• Anthony LaPaglia as Al Garcetti “ The good news is that Kilmer, a smart, nervy ”
• Glenn Plummer as Bobby actor who looked to be down for the
• Peter Sarsgaard as Jimmy the Finn count—the victim, some have suggested, of his
• Deborah Kara Unger as Colette own untenable temperament—is in there
• Chandra West as Liz working hard and giving a real performance.
• B.D. Wong as Bubba He doesn’t make the movie worth seeing, but
• R. Lee Ermey as Verne Plummer he makes me hope to see him again.[6]
• Shalom Harlow as Nancy
• Shirley Knight a Nancy Plummer The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives
• Meat Loaf as Bo (as Michael Lee Aday) the film a score of 62% based on reviews from 85 critics,
• Danny Trejo as Little Bill with an average rating of 5.8 out of 10.[7]
Reception References
Film critic Roger Ebert liked the film and the characters [1] The Numbers web site.
but gave it a mixed review: [2] The Salton Sea at the Internet Movie Database
“ The Salton Sea is all pieces and no coherent ” [3] Ebert, Roger. Film review, Chicago Sun-Times, 17
whole. Maybe life on meth is like that. The May 2002. Last accessed: February 6, 2011.
plot does finally explain itself, like a dislocat- [4] Koehler, Robert. Film review, Variety, 18 February
ed shoulder popping back into place, but then 2002. accessed: February 6, 2011.
the plot is off the shelf; only the characters [5] Holden, Stephen. Film review; Speeding to Hit
and details set the movie aside from its stable- Bottom, and About to Get There Fast, The New York
mates. I liked it because it was so endlessly, Times, 26 April 2002. Last accessed: February 6,
grotesquely, inventive: Watching it, I pictured 2011.
Tarantino throwing a stick into a swamp, and [6] Edelstein, David. "A Farce With Force", Slate, 26
the movie swimming out through the muck, April 2002. Last accessed: February 6, 2011.
retrieving it, and bringing it back with its tail [7] "The Salton Sea". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster.
wagging.[3] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/salton_sea/.
Retrieved 2011-02-06.
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Salton Sea
External links • The Salton Sea film trailer
• The Salton Sea at the Internet Movie Database
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Salton_Sea&oldid=462656596"
Categories:
• 2002 films
• English-language films
• 2000s crime films
• American films
• Castle Rock Entertainment films
• Crime thriller films
• Directorial debut films
• Films about drugs
• Neo-noir
• Warner Bros. films
This page was last modified on 27 November 2011 at 00:51. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view
3