After the information overload of Nixon and the controversy of Natural Born Killers, director Oliver Stone made this low-budget thriller. It's a rarity from the normally serious director - a surreal black comedy sometimes worthy of Buñuel that pays passing tribute to Red Rock West and the pulp fiction of Jim Thompson. Sean Penn stars as the mysterious drifter who arrives in Superior, Arizona, and becomes involved in a small-town conspiracy involving local flirt Jennifer Lopez and her husband Nick Nolte. Lending practised support are Powers Boothe and Billy Bob Thornton, while Jon Voight is almost unrecognisable as a blind native American. As a sustained mood piece, the movie is a triumph.

When a desperate man’s car breaks down in a bizarre desert town while evading vengeful bookies, he becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle. Caught between a married couple, he’s faced with deadly contracts to kill them both.