THE SALTON SEA (2002)

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DIRECTOR: D.J. Caruso

CINEMATOGRAPHER: AMIR MOKRI

WRITER: TONY GAYTON

BUDGET: $18,000,000

GROSS: $1,073,198 (worldwide)

if I was putting together a list of directors who have wasted their potential, D.J. Caruso would definitely be on that list. However, if the only films of his you have seen are Taking Lives, Two For The Money, Disturbia, I Am Number 4 and Eagle Eye you would probably be asking yourself, “where is the ‘potential’ in the first place?” “What is he wasting?”

Sure, Eagle Eye was ok, but Taking Lives wasn't very good and Disturbia was a film that I liked until the final act where it all fell apart and took the film down with it. And I Am Number Four wasn’t good either. So, where is the potential you ask? It’s at The Salton Sea.

The film looks great and has an interesting story that plays within the drug/crime/revenge genre but makes its own way through it. Even the few twists aren't that predictable. The Salton Sea was Caruso's first film and it feels like he is making the film he really wants to make. He had a real vision for how he was going to film and tell the story and it would appear that he was able to get on celluloid what he had in his head.

The question I have is, are the films he has made since The Salton Sea the ones he has wanted to make? Or, have the studios been more involved and hence have their two cents ended up stifling what the films could have been?

I think Eagle Eye had a pretty interesting premise. With a film like Disturbia which was quite good for the first 3/4 of the movie and then just gets ruined with the last 1/4 I want to believe it was outside influences that forced his hand in an attempt to appeal to more audiences and play better at screenings, etc...

Since that great debut it has been a very mediocre showing from Caruso. And while I’ve been following DJ’s career since seeing The Salton Sea back in 2002 in hopes of witnessing that quality again - it hasn’t happened.

However, given that most people have probably seen his more popular films and not The Salton Sea it could have the reverse effect. Watching this one it will be like seeing a director break out from a string of mediocre, forgettable films to a film-maker to watch with vision and style.