Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- lurid
- paranoid
- misanthropic
- late night
- dark movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film stylish and striking but unfocused, excessive, and lacking the thematic weight of Oliver Stone’s strongest work.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bobby is stranded after fleeing bookies and becomes caught between Grace and Jake’s murder plots.
The Arizona desert and bizarre small-town encounters give the film a hallucinatory, oppressive atmosphere.
Critics specifically identified striking, highly stylized violence and a lurid visual presentation.
Bobby’s gambling debt and pursuit by bookies establish the central pressure behind his choices.
Films like U Turn, and why
Blood Simple
Shares lurid neo-noir crime plotting, morally compromised characters, desert isolation, and a darkly comic atmosphere.
Fargo
Comparable for its stylized violence, fragmented criminal schemes, eccentric small-town figures, and grimly playful tone.
Red Rock West
Shares a fatalistic noir structure, sexual manipulation, escalating violence, and protagonists trapped by criminal circumstances.
Natural Born Killers
Comparable for its feverish visual style, nihilistic crime world, and grotesque collision of sex, money, and violence.
Movie Details
- Director
- Oliver Stone
- Release Date
- 1997-10-03
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (846)
Cast
- Sean Penn
- Nick Nolte
- Jennifer Lopez
- Joaquin Phoenix
- Claire Danes
- Powers Boothe
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Jon Voight
- Abraham Benrubi
- Richard Rutowski
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is U Turn about?
- A stranded fugitive’s desperate detour through an Arizona backwater becomes a lurid maze of murder, betrayal, and bad choices.
- What is U Turn like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of U Turn as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is U Turn violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in U Turn as graphic.
- What did critics think of U Turn?
- Critics broadly found the film stylish and striking but unfocused, excessive, and lacking the thematic weight of Oliver Stone’s strongest work.
- Which films are like U Turn?
- Films with a similar feel include Blood Simple, Fargo, Red Rock West, and Natural Born Killers.
- How long is U Turn?
- U Turn runs 125 minutes.
- Where can I watch U Turn?
- In United States, U Turn streams on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel.
