By: debbie lynn elias
Far superior to his other current release, “Murder By Numbers,” screenwriter Tony Gayton’s latest foray onto the big screen comes in the form of “The Salton Sea” – a stylish neo-noir crime thriller about a man haunted, and obsessed, by the murder of his wife.
Val Kilmer, in his most enigmatic and riveting performance in years, stars as Danny Parker, make that Tom Van Allen, well no, maybe Danny Parker – as he himself ponders in the opening moments of the film, is he “an avenging angel, a prodigal son, loving husband or prince of darkness. You decide who I am.” Our first glimpse of Danny, an accomplished jazz musician, is as he sits, calmly playing melancholy jazz on a trumpet amidst a blaze of fire and brimstone, mourning not only the loss of his wife to a cold blooded killer, but his own identity. Deciding to take the law into his own hands and seek out the man responsible for his wife’s murder (ah, the sweet smell of revenge), Danny reinvents himself as a down-and-out, gutterish low life “tweaker” (street slang for methamphetamine users) who lives from one drug rave to the next. Complete with greenish hair, silver death-head rings on every finger, grotesque tattoos over almost every inch of his body, Kilmer, as he is known to do, physically transforms himself into the character with such attention to detail and believability, that you forget this is only a character.
When not supporting his drug habit by acting as a snitch to corrupt LAPD narcs, Garcetti and Morgan, Danny seemingly floats through life in a drug induced haze. But every once in awhile, the audience and Danny get a sobering glimpse through that haze of a time that was, and a love that was, as Danny self-absorbs in thoughts of a woman and a special day on the shores of the Salton Sea. Using flashbacks, Danny narrates his own story, leading up to the reason for his being in the burning room.
As we lead up to the primary operation which ties all of the pieces of Danny’s puzzle together, we meet a colorful cast of characters and criminals, not the least of which is Pooh Bear played by the incomparable Vincent D’Onofrio. Pooh Bear it seems lost his nose due to excessive “snorting” and as a result now wears a proboscis that makes him look more like a Porky Pig reject than Pooh. For entertainment between drug deals, Pooh Bear reenacts the Kennedy assassination using remote control vehicles with pigeons as passengers, and yes, they are dressed in character. D’Onofrio plays Pooh for all its worth, deliciously combining creepy and chilling into a parfait of merriment which is irresistible.
Although he doesn’t know who JFK is, thanks to Danny’s best buddy Jimmy the Finn played by Peter Sarsgaard, we get a shopping tour of the best places to buy the best meth. In a nice turn by Glenn Plummer, drug dealer Bobby, who hallucinates spiders and is always paranoid from using too much of his own product, greets “customers” with a spear gun. Rounding out the pack are next door neighbor Quincey played by Luis Guzman (always a good villain) and his beat upon girlfriend Colette, not to mention Adam Goldberg as fellow addict Kujo. But let’s not forget our guys in blue, good cop/worse cop Garcetti and Morgan played by Anthony La Paglia and Doug Hutchinson who take police corruption to new levels, making the Rampart scandal look like Romper Room.
Directed by D.J. Caruso in his first major outing, “The Salton Sea” is dark, but also inventive and energetic. Visual boldness by cinematographer Amir Mokri is only enhanced by Jim Page’s editing, giving us a slick, stylish work. Caruso keeps us on our toes, taunting and teasing, never letting us get too comfortable with the plot, twisting and turning at a moment’s notice so you never know what will happen next. Cynical, devious and even deviant, “The Salton Sea” is one psychological thrill ride you don’t want to miss.
