This excellent film contains not only an outstanding performance by Val Kilmer (as the straight yuppie Tom Van Allen who becomes Danny Parker, the emotional pain-induced newbie tweaker), but also an important message that is lost on most of society. Before universally and dismissively judging someone who is a substance abuser, consider that there are some (perhaps many?) people who have taken the path taken by Tom Van Allen in "The Salton Sea" and that they have done so to escape the unimaginable pain of loss. This under-rated, under-appreciated film deserved much more praise then it has received, as do many in its cast including Kilmer - in one of his best performances - as well as fellow tweaker Peter Sarsgaard, and physically and emotionally abused Deborah Unger. There was a time in my life when I was a no-drugs poster child of whom Nancy Reagan would have been proud. The older I get, the more I realize just how much life has to do with the choices - both good and bad - that we make and that all of these choices have purpose and, perhaps, value.
Review of The Salton Sea
