Down in the Valley
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Actor: Bruce Dern, David Morse, Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, Rory CulkinBrand: THINKFILM LLC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 114 minutes
Published: 2006-09-01
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: TF-54875
Studio: Velocity / Thinkfilm
DVD Reviews of Down in the Valley
DVD Review: Down in the Valley
Summary: 5 Stars
"Down in the Valley" is the 2nd film by David Jacobson, who's previous film "Dahmer" was released straight-to-video. For good reason too. When he released that film, it was just another film in a series of straight-to-video films about serial killers. Out of the 5 I can think of off the top of my head (Ed Gein, Gacy, Ted Bundy, Dahmer, and Evilenko). That was the 2nd best.
But, it was a terrible movie. It was inaccurate, had a straight-to-video feel to it, and was a waste of time. It was the 2nd best because the acting was good and the cinematography was professional looking. When he made this film, it looked like it's future would be the same as Dahmer. Producer/Star Edward Norton fought to get it put in theatres and looking at the finished product, I'm glad. This is not a film that should be released straight-to-video. It's a good movie. Norton plays Harlan, a cowboy living in California's San Fernado Valley. He talks with a accent and has all the mannerisms of your classic western cowboys. He claims he's from South Dakota, but it seems that he's making up stories as he goes. While working at a gas station, Harlan meets Tobe (the very talented and beautiful Evan Rachel Wood) a rebellious 16-year old girl. For the record, Tobe isn't pronounced Toby. It's short for October and rhymes with "globe." Despite the age difference, there's never a weird stautory-rape overtone here; At least from my viewpoint. Harlan is charming and also befriends Tobe's younger brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin, also young and talented)...The only person Harlan fails to befriend is the brother and sister's dad Wade (the always fantastic and always underrated David Morse); Wade is a security guard (I'm pretty sure, they never really elaborate) and takes an almost instant dislike to Harlan that only gets worse as the story continues. This movie is frequently compared to Taxi Driver and I'm pretty sure writer/director Jacobson noticed too. In one scene, Harlan talks to his reflection in a mirror. The only way to have made it more obvious would to have had Harlan say "You talkin' to me?" The movie opened to mixed reviews; Roger Ebert gave it a hesitant thumbs down, Richard Roeper didn't care for it. Peter Travers (critic for Rolling Stone) fell in love with it. I'm going to have to take the side of Travers and Ebert. I know I gave the film 5 stars, but that's for entertainment not necessarily quality. I loved the movie; It was entertaining and the performances are great, but it's definitely flawed. First off, some of the characters make decisions that aren't very characteristic of them. I found myself liking the deceitful and mentally unstable Harlan more than the loving and sometimes violent Wade. The film's ending is a little gratuitously violent (something I've never complained about).
It's not for everybody, a lot of people besides critics haven't liked it. Edward Norton proves, once again, that he is an amazing actor with a lot of range. This is one of his best performances. Evan Rachel Wood has played this character at least twice (Thirteen and Pretty Persuasion). The only difference between this character and the other two is Tobe is rebellious, but she's a nice girl overall. The scenes between Wood and Culkin are very true (a lot of the scenes were inspired by Jacobson's childhood). I have a theory that more people will dislike this movie than not, but it's a big step forward for Jacobson and I can't stress enough how good it really is. It's haunting, it will stay with you (whether you liked it or not), and it's really well done.
FACTORING IN ALL THE FLAWS: B
GRADE: A-
Description of Down in the Valley
"Hypnotic andihaunting." -Peter Travers, Rolling StoneHarlan (Norton) is a charismatic cowboy stuck in suburban San Fernando Valley, who by a twist of fate, rides into the life of a rebellious young girl Tobe (Wood). Their chance encounter explodes into a passionate romance-despite evidence that a more sinister truth might be lurking beneath his country charm.
Wanting to protect his teenage daughter and young son from the man that is clearly not who he is, Tobe's father prohibits the lovers to ever see each other again. More alienated than ever down in the valley, Harlan gallops full speed into a breakdown resulting in a desperate attempt to hold onto whatever, or whomever, he can.
Down in the Valley falls short of the greatness it's striving for, but it's a fascinating film that's easily recommended. Serving as both star and co-producer, Edward Norton seized upon writer-director David Jacobsen's neo-western screenplay as an opportunity to play the kind of daring and challenging role that Hollywood rarely offers. Norton's considerable talent is fully engaged as he portrays Harlan Carruthers, a cowboy anachronism in California's San Fernando Valley, where his Stetson hat, old-fashioned manners, and wild-west romanticism provide an escape from his dreary life of dead-end jobs and fleabag motels. We can't tell if he's really a former ranch-hand from South Dakota or a delusional psychopath, and that turns Down in the Valley into a suburban variation of Taxi Driver, with the threat of danger increasing as Harlan is befriended by Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood), a bored teenager who seduces Harlan for the sake of romantic adventure. Tension and suspense escalate even further as Harlan tangles with Tobe's suspicious and belligerently protective father (David Morse) and lonely 13-year-old brother (Rory Culkin), but Jacobsen's intriguing film grows problematic when it veers into mythic western territory. Struggling for present-day resonance with themes of rugged individualism and frontier manhood in an era when those qualities are virtually extinct, Down in the Valley reaches a climax that feels forced and unconvincing, but fine performances (especially by Norton) and Jacobsen's bold, risk-taking direction make this a film worth seeing.--Jeff Shannon
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