Movie Review: The Salton Sea

The Salton Sea (2002) 

Directed by D.J Caruso

Written by Tony Gayton 

Starring Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Goldberg, Luis Guzman, Peter Sarsgard 

Release Date April 26th, 2002 

Published Apil 25th, 2002 

Stories about Val Kilmer's attitude and ego have clouded such varied productions as The Doors, Batman Forever, and Mission To Mars. It's been reported that on the set of Mission To Mars Kilmer and co-star Tom Sizemore actually came to blows. No matter what is said about Kilmer's attitude, his talent is undeniable, even though his ability to choose good material is questionable (At First Sight, The Saint), But when he does get good material, Kilmer is as good as anyone working today. In the thriller The Salton Sea, Kilmer has excellent material and he is more than equal to it.

Directed by feature film first-timer DJ Caruso, The Salton Sea at first stars Kilmer as our unnamed narrator. Sitting in a burning hotel room holding a trumpet and surrounded by flaming dollar bills, we get a sense of an unfolding noir, but as the narrator leads into his story we get so much more. As our narrator explains he isn't sure who he really is. At one point he was Tom Van Allen, a jazz musician weeks away from marrying the girl of his dreams, Liz (Chandra West). Most recently he was Danny Parker, a speed freak turned police informant. How Tom becomes Danny is told in a flashback within a flashback. To explain that further would destroy one of the films great plot twists. Let's just say that the connection is a little strained but pays off well.

As Danny, our narrator explains his dealings with two cops, Morgan played by The Green Mile's Doug Hutchinson and Garcetti played by the ever reliable Anthony LaPaglia. To keep the cops from busting him, Danny offers to help the cops catch a drug dealer named Pooh Bear. Vincent D'onfrio plays Pooh Bear, one of the most unique and fascinating film characters in a long time. As Pooh Bear, D'onofrio communicates menace with a nasal southern drawl made scarier by the fact that the character has no nose. 

You see, in the lore of The Salton Sea, Pooh Bear sniffed so much speed that his nose had to be removed. He covers the hole in his face with a plastic nose that when taken off delivers a visual punch not soon forgotten. Pooh Bear's unique hobbies include recreating the Kennedy Assassination with pet pigeons in place of the president and Mrs. Kennedy, and torturing his enemies by setting rabid animals loose on their exposed genitals. These unusual traits could make for an over the top and unbelievable character but Pooh Bear's strange southern folksiness and D'onofrio's amazing talent bring the character down to earth and make the character frighteningly believable.

The Salton Sea twists and turns like a combination of Memento and Pulp Fiction run through a blender. Writer Tony Gayton, whose previous credit was the slick detective story Murder By Numbers, here shows a flair for dialogue and characters that is very unexpected when compared to the prepackaged thriller characters he previously put in place. With Director DJ Caruso providing the grimy imagery and Gayton drawing uniquely wild characters, The Salton Sea transcends it's comparisons to stand on it's own as an exciting grunge noir. Though it's not as good as Pulp Fiction or Memento, The Salton Sea shows that it's creators have the potential to do something great.

Val Kilmer and Vincent D'ofrio each deliver career best performances in The Salton Sea. While they could easily have relied on character quirks and lazily gotten by, both actors appear deeply invested in these characters and giving them life. They are both weird and complicated, just the kind of juicy role that a Capital A Actor would want, neither Kilmer or D'onofrio are resting on the wilder aspects of their character. Both actors masterful compel the audience through their energy, the emotion, and the physical presence of these characters. By making Danny and Pooh Bear plausible they make them feel real, even as each are recognizable as characters within an outsized, manipulated noir mystery universe. 

The Salton Sea is one of the best movies of 2002.