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List Price: $14.97 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 9918
Released: September 10, 2002 |
| Our Price: $7.84 |
| Used Price: $3.38 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In the Imperial Valley of Southern California there is a little known body of water 226 feet below sea level, one of the lowest points in the United States. As there is no outlet from this sea, water is being removed only by evaporation, which results in a salinity level more than 25 percent higher than the Pacific Ocean. There is an eerie stillness to this vast sea, and a peculiar density to the water. This lake is the Salton Sea. Set against this remote and mysterious landscape, an unexpected and brutal crime leaves an innocent woman, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, dead at the hands of masked gunmen. Her husband's life is left in ruins, his every waking moment haunted by the recurring imagery of the murder he witnessed, but was powerless to prevent. "The Salton Sea" is a character-driven crime thriller about an unlikely hero entangled in a web of deceit and treachery. Full of unexpected twists and turns, this is a compelling and emotionally-charged story about loss and recovery set to the lonely resonant tones of jazz great Miles Davis' horn. Danny Parker (VAL KILMER) is a man in search of redemption, consumed by a sense of loneliness and alienation. Following the death of his wife (CHANDRA WEST), he is set adrift in a seedy underworld inhabited by an eclectic, and often comical, cast of characters united principally by their choice of drug: crystal methamphetamine. An accomplished jazz musician, Danny is now a low-life "tweaker" in Los Angeles who leads us through a frenzied maze, one from which he must emerge before his tenuous grip on reality snaps for good. In a bold attempt Danny secretly hatches a plan to serve as middle-man in a lucrative drug deal. With the help of his friend Jimmy "The Finn" (PETER SARSGAARD), Danny is introduced to Pooh-Bear (VINCENT D'ONOFRIO), a methamphetamine baron with a penchant for sadistic recreational games, who seals the deal. But in this mad world, nothing - most of all Danny - is what it seems.
Description of The Salton Sea:
In the real world, drug use is unimaginably boring to watch--but it inspires spectacular visuals in movies like Trainspotting and Drugstore Cowboy. To this list add The Salton Sea, a moody thriller starring Val Kilmer as a musician who goes undercover into the world of speed freaks to find the men who killed his wife. Though that plot summary may sound trite, creative direction, strong performances, and a solid script that shifts to and fro in time make The Salton Sea worth a look. Kilmer has an erratic track record but he's always an intriguing on-screen presence; Vincent D'Onofrio has a field day playing a noseless speed dealer called Pooh Bear. The cast is full of excellent character actors, including Anthony LaPaglia (Lantana), Peter Sarsgaard (Boys Don't Cry), B.D. Wong (Jurassic Park), Deborah Kara Unger (Crash), Adam Goldberg (Saving Private Ryan), and Luis Guzman (The Limey). --Bret Fetzer
The Salton Sea Reviews:
Cheesy but good 
2009-12-09 - Cheesy a little but definitely good.
Unrealistic of the actual drug world though. I have never seen that many tweekers in one room where they were not fighting or accusing each other of steeling the dope. and to just leave the drugs out? would never happen. especially not with speed.
But val kilmer looks super hot in this movie!
the gritty salty underbelly of LA's drug traffic 
2009-12-07 - The sad story of a trumpet player caught up in a web of lies
of his own making.
He has a Mexican drug ring, his wife's parents, two sheriff's narcs
and the FBI all watching his every move,
while he tries to set up the guys who killed his wife.
The end is sort of unexpected and I liked that,
but the LA / southern California drug ( meth) scene is
nothing but black on black with murder and insanity
mixed in: the story of an LA rat turns into a renewal of faith?
Salton Sea Review 
2009-11-21 - A great film with Val Kilmer and really an all star cast. A gritty, sometimes hard to watch story about the speed subculture and well played out revenge plot. This movie ay not be for everyone, but is well made, acted, and directed. Probably the best part I have seen played by Vincent D'Onofrio as Poo Bear, a dangerous gacked out drug dealer that does not trust anyone.
Like a serious mind tweak, this film is unforgettable...
2009-11-04 - You can place this in the `hidden gems' file, for `The Salton Sea', while not perfect, is one intriguing and worthwhile ride that you may never take. It's one of the better films you've never heard of. I remember finding this in Blockbuster back in 02 and wondering just what it was, seeing the names Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio and saying "I'll give it a try" and being totally blown away. I think I watched it a record seven times before bringing it back (I kept bringing it to every friend I had and watching it with them...I was seventeen had nothing better to do with my time).
Is it the best movie ever?
No. In fact, as you can see, I don't even give it an A rating, but this film is engaging, wonderfully acted, crisply shot and all around very entertaining.
Kilmer (underrated as an actor and really needs to challenge himself with worthy material) plays Danny Parker, a musician haunted by the death (brutal murder) of his wife. Since her death he has sunk into a morbid depression and become wrapped up in a life of drugs. This life throws him into the company of some eclectic individuals, all of which play a central part in bringing him closer to his goal; vengeance.
So, as I stated in my previous review (for `Flightplan'), I am dedicating my next few reviews to one of my favorite actors; Peter Sarsgaard. This is not one of his best roles, but it is one of the first of his I had seen. I had seen `Boys Don't Cry' but I didn't even really know who `he' was at that point and focused mainly on Swank and Sevigny (although over time Sarsgaard's performance has really stood out as utter brilliance). Sarsgaard delivers a charmingly docile performance here as Jimmy, Danny's clingy friend. He's naïve and goofy and sad in a way, but totally likable. He is overshadowed by Kilmer's eerily desperation (one of his finest performances) and D'Onofrio's stellar Pooh-Bear (this character is so out there yet so marvelously delivered), but Sarsgaard is most certainly memorable here.
Director D.J. Caruso is the biggest star here, for it is his grungy direction that really elevates this film and gives it a crisp edge that makes us sit up in rapt attention. The film is incredibly murky, and that works, for it `takes us there'.
It's funny because this is not a film I'd consider to be superb, but it is a film that I will never forget. The gimmicky aspects of the film work extra hard at creating a finished product you want to like, and so you wind up liking it. I still have the `skull rings' I bought after watching Kilmer's stellar performance, and this films title proved to be the inspiration for a song I wrote when a close friend lost his wife to a horrible car accident.
`The Salton Sea'; it just has a devastatingly pure ring to it.
Edgy and full of freaks
2009-06-30 - The noseless meth freak steals the show in this druggie tale of a man who rats on drug addicts while trying to kill the bad cops who killed his wife. Kilmer is pretty good. He also made an anti-meth documentary unrelated to this. Co-incidence? Nice soundtrack and some great tense moments add up to an entertainment worth watching.
