Customer Reviews

Down in the Valley

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Imperfect and overlong, somewhat stretched and overwrought, Down in the Valley is still a beautifully acted and potent take on a dysfunctional working class family and a naïve drifter - bordering the edges of sociopathic derangement - who ends up powerfully affecting their lives.

Set firmly amongst the freeways, tract-homes and the urban landscape of the San Fernando Valley, Down in the Valley centers on the character of Harlen (Ed Norton), a type of suburban cowboy, who lives in a netherworld of cowboy fantasies and rambles the Valley tipping his dopey hat to the ladies and promising skeptics he will earn their trust.

Harlen lives in a shabby motel, and when bored, pretends he's in Western movie shootouts playing with his guns and lassoing the kitchen chairs. He's been working as a gas station attendant that is until he meets the equally unmoored Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood). Tobe is the defiant and languorously beautiful teenage daughter of a local jail sheriff (hunky David Morse) and Harlan courts her with a cool self-composure.

Of course, from our eyes - and from Tobe's father's - Harlen is nothing but a white trash loser, a dolt who's probably verging on the edge of sanity. But the lovely Tobe doesn't see him this way and she falls for his old-world and romantic cowboy ways when he's actually more innocent and psychologically even younger than Tobe.

Harlen is in reality a child, a man out of place "down in the valley," this land of fast-paced activity, modern rules and where people never get out of their cars. Yet he's also impetuous and manipulative and often acts on the spur of the moment without thinking of the consequences. The first serious signs of trouble come when Harlan takes Tobe to the country for a ride on a white horse that belongs to an eccentric rancher (Bruce Dern) he claims is a friend, and the "friend" pursues them with a gun.

Harlen also holds Tobe's kid brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin) in his complicated thrall. Things get really out of hand when Harlen starts playing off Lonnie and Tobe's affections with their belligerent, protective father and supplying Lonnie with the simple love and attention the boy (and maybe Harlan himself) has never had.

Of course it's inevitable that the shielding father and the wayward boyfriend inevitably clash, and much of the tension of the movie comes from how this relationship eventually plays out. Down in the Valley begins like just another blue collar domestic drama, full of mis-communication and misbegotten tension, but then it radically veers off course, hurtling into the realms of myth and allegory.

Harlan always wanted to be a cowboy and in the final denouement he gets what he wants - but at a price. Then his problems become too overwhelming for Tobe, for Lonnie, for the law, for himself. The climax, a wildly symbolic cinematic chase through the little wilderness that's left, detours across a Western movie set, where all the gun violence begins to take it's toll.

Writer and director David Jacobson builds a rich setting for the inevitable dramatics, the action taking place in a land of American myth that's gone terribly wrong. Jacobson's characters are so richly drawn and his actors to phenomenal in their respective roles, that you can forgive the movie for becoming a little heavy handed and to some extent losing its way towards the end. Mike Leonard October 06.

Nice, charming Harlan, played superbly by Ed Norton, a gas station attendant from out of town who's never been to the beach takes a ride from the nubile girl with 'gumption" according to her booding father, played by David Morse. But the beautiful and comely October is underage, and Papa doesn't like the older and somewhat weird Norton dating October, so he forbids their liasons. But Harlan doesn't take no for an answer, and when he can't find October, he settles for her little brother, taking the young boy on another stolen horse ride and teaching him how to shoot .45 revolvers.On their return, Daddy is waiting, and pulls a gun on Harlan, threatens he'll use it if Harlan ever darkens their door again. Harlan responds by breaking into the home, stealing October's Daddy's .45 and packing her a bag. But October won't leave. Tempers fly and October is shot. Harlan tells October's brother October was shot by their father, and that only Harlan can rescue the boy from being a ward of the state. Another horse is stolen, and Harlan and the boy are on the run from the cops and October's father through the hills above the San Fernando Valley. Shots are fired and people go down. But Harlan and the boy are still on the run, and October's wounded father is hot on their heels.

This movie charms and frightens the viewer. Harlan's progression into madness is slow and masked by his easy going nature, his simple humor and by his easy smile. But underneath, Harlan is seething, roiling in a world that doesn't fit him. A cowboy out of his element. A dead shot with a lightning quick draw. Harlan knows he's going to die, and he's determined to take some people with him.

Meanwhile, the children's father is finding ways to bridge the resentments which have split his family apart over time. Coping with adolesence can be tough for a hardened man pre-occupied with his corrections job and looking for love. Once disinterested and authoritative toward his children, the father discovers the depth of his love for his children, and learns new ways to communicate it. adversity can bring people together.

This is an excellent movie, but one which will keep you guessing. Both Ed Norton and David Morse perform their roles as if they were born to them. I found this movie very enjoyable.

It takes a certain mindset to appreciate DOWN IN THE VALLEY, a quiet little movie about little people who want something more than what their environs offer. The film is long (just over two hours), could use some editing, allows a rather pedestrian musical score to cover the dialogue far too frequently, and for much of the film the camera exposure makes everything so sun drenched (even for the San Fernando Valley where the story takes place!) that it feels bleached. But those aspects feel secondary in the presence of some very fine performances by an excellent cast directed with vision by writer/director David Jacobson.

Life is exceedingly boring in the bland town where Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) and her little brother Lonny (Rory Culkin) live with their sheriff father Wayne (David Morse) - we never know why there is no mother around though Wayne brings in sleepover subs at random. Tobe has girlfriends with whom she cruises guys and on one afternoon's trip to the beach she meets gas station attendant Harlan (Edward Norton), a drifter who claims to be a rancher form South Dakota and has all the genteel manners of a gentleman raised to respect women. Harlan lives in a trashy motel, plays and dresses as a cowboy, and has an innocence about him that makes us want to believe he is not the borderline personality he is. Tobe picks Harlan up, they begin seeing each other despite Wayne's better judgment, and Tobe and Harlan include Lonny in their pursuit of a world that borders on make believe Western drama. Wayne objects more strongly, discovers Harlan is tempting Tobe away from her home, and confronts Harlan until Harlan finally decides the only way to move forward is to rescue Tobe and Lonny from their bad homelife. Harlan's dark side emerges and his cowboy play becomes real, gunshots are fired and the ending of the film is a mélange of old Western movie make-believe and contemporary tragedy of a young man out of joint with his world.

Edward Norton gives a stunning portrayal of an out of touch drifter: we never know his background except for suggestions that his childhood was spent in detention homes, foster homes, and other dysfunctional modes of getting by. Evan Rachel Wood is radiantly beautiful as the needy teenager who ultimately cannot cope with her desires to leave the home nest. Rory Culkin has few lines but his presence is palpably worrisome. Bruce Dern is on board as a crusty old contemporary 'cowboy' and David Morse again turns in a performance that is three dimensional and credible (it would have been helpful to know why he is a single parent). The film is not without its flaws (as mentioned above plus more), but it manages to give Edward Norton yet another chance to demonstrate his considerable skills as an actor who can make the most peripheral characters stick in our hearts. This is a fine little movie, much underrated. Grady Harp, October 06

"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-

In `Down in the Valley' Edward Norton again shows his talent as one of the best actors in his generation, who can create a credible portrait of an apparently implausible character. Here Ed Norton plays one Harlan, who speaks and behaves like a cowboy even though he is living in modern-day San Fernando Valley. Actually, Harlan seems to think that he is truly a character (and of course a Shane-like heroic one) coming directly out of good, old Western films

When a beautiful and spirited teenager Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood), bored with the life there (and especially the life with her father or dysfunctional family), meets this charismatic guy working at a gas station, they fall in love with each other almost instantly. Tobe's younger brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin) also likes Harlan because of his free-spirited attitudes, but Harlan's unconventional behaviors (like riding a horse in the Valley) could be not only a joyful experience to Tobe and Lonnie, but also something much different than they had expected.

Bruce Dern is also seen in a minor role as an angry horse owner.

I do not give away much about the story, but I only say this. As Tobe's protective father (David Morse) understands, Harlan and his fantasy could be dangerous to the ones around him, and the film, which looks like a quirky romance about the incongruous couple in the first half, becomes suddenly more serious in the second. The gap between them is considerable though it is, I suppose, exactly what the writer/director David Jacobson wants to do. Still I am not sure that the downside of someone's fantasy could be or should be like this.

What is the most memorable thing in the film is, as I said before, Edward Norton's credible character, but the fact is the acting is unanimously good, particularly that of Evan Rachel Wood, who is willing to be deceived by the fantasy of this handsome stranger. What is equally impressive is its simple but evocative soundtrack music which perfectly matches the scenes. Probably those who actually live there might not think so, but the locations of the Valley with the hills and freeways give strength to the story as the backdrop.

During the interview with one Japanese reporter, Edward Norton said that people (including the director of this film) tend to think that he prefers so-called `independent' films, but `Down in the Valley' is actually the first indie film that he is in. (`American History X' is from New Line Cinema.) It is a bit surprising, but if we misunderstand that way, that is because we know from his superb acting that he is always a gifted actor whose roles do not fit in the conventional mold.

Anyway, the two leads Norton and Wood (who was also wonderful in `Thirteen') both give us subtle, nuanced performances, and though it must be admitted that the film's unique story and its symbolic use of Westerns do not always work, `Down in the Valley' provides a pair of interesting characters supported by good acting.

I found this to be a different movie, hard to describe. Their is the young, impulsive love affair, October and Harlin (ed norton). With that, comes the struggle with the father figure Wade (david morse). Also in the mix is Harlin's relationship with the little brother. The movie never really said how Wade and the two kids ended up together, and it hinted at how Harlin ended up in his chosen role as an urban born Valley cowboy. In all, this movie made was interesting, good acting, but not super suprising to me on how it ended. But you do see the depth in characters despite not having much of their history layed out as well. Different. One to rent, consider as a buy.

Edward Norton plays an evil drifter in "Down In the Valley", a low-budget flick he made between big budget movies in 2005. He meets and woos 16-year-old Evan Rachel Wood, daughter of his foil, David Morse, and brother to Rory Culkin, whom Norton also turns toward him with his easygoing, hayseed charm.

What is most recommendable in this film is Norton's outstanding caricature of a South Dakotan using his enigmatic charms to entrance Los Angelite Wood and her brother against the wishes of their lawman dad, Morse. Bruce Dern has a small role as someone trying to unmask Norton's evil character.

As always, Norton is riveting in the understatement with which he carries out his role. You want to accept his explanation that he's a misunderstood well-meaning guy against Morse's admonition that "I've seen your type before." Morse plays the good guy opposite the evil star, although he really isn't that much of a good guy. Abusive with both kids, Morse plays a lawman that uses his position to dissaude Norton from sticking around his daughter. This precedes a somewhat predicatable scene where the film both unravels and begins, finally!, to get interesting.

I say finally! because this movie is about as slow as maple syrup in February for 75 minutes. It crawls around with little forward motion in a sequence of scenes that define the characters and build the apocalypse that occurs after 75 minutes, when the movie seems to take off.

Still, this is required viewing for fans of any of the principal actors, all of whom are well-cast and carry out their roles well. Morse played another good guy foil to a bad guy star in the outstanidng 2001 movie, "The Indian Runner". If you like this movie, buy, rent or borrow the other one. It's like this one only twice as good.

Edward Norton never fails to deliver something, and as homely and polite as he comes across, right away you know that something just aint right with this kid. He takes up with Evan Rachel Wood as October, or Tobe, and there is the proverbial clash with Tobe's dad, played by David Morse. Morse has quite a gun collection, and as we all know, a gun seen in the first act of a play will make a reappearance in the third act.

Edward Norton's acting seems to be in about 2nd or 3rd gear, just cruising along as Harlan, his laconic drawl spinning tales from back on the ranch. He lulls us into his character, and even when things get nasty, he remains understated, and never gets to the throbbing-vein stage, or starts screaming. The film takes its own leisurely time to develop, there is plenty of love story, and an appearance by yet another of the vast array of Culkins, this one is named Rory, and they are all highly capable in that kid role. As things finally begin to unravel, Ed Norton displays some pretty mean drawin' and shootin' skills, and he doesn't look too bad up on a horse, neither. It has been a good year for the Western; "The Proposition," "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," and now "Down in the Valley." None of the three are old-school Westerns, but instead modern variations that are keeping a genre alive and vibrant.

Try and imagine a modern day western film taking place in bustling Los Angeles County, complete with an "Aw-shucks", white hat toting, young man in love with a girl who's not quite of legal age yet, and you'll come close to grasping DOWN IN THE VALLEY.

The story is set purely in L.A. as we watch a cowpoke named Harlan (Edward Norton, THE ILLUSIONIST) walk into town wearing Levi's and a frayed rope draped over one shoulder. The dichotomy is immediately striking as planes fly over his head and power lines droop across roadways.

Then we jump to a small family that lives in L.A. and are having troubles. Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood, THE MISSING) is a very pretty young high schooler who lives with her burly father Wade (David Morse, 16 BLOCKS) and her clingy brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin, SIGNS). Tobe is growing too fast into womanhood and independence, and she and her father constantly joust with each other regarding curfews, clothing, and being a responsible teen. Lonnie latches onto Tobe all the time, a lost little brother whom Tobe is growing tired of raising since her father works all the time to help support them. And Lonnie isn't Wade's son, being an adopted family member but still a significant part of their lives.

One sunny day Tobe and her friends pull into a gas station to fuel up and encounter the "for real" cowboy, Harlan. Tobe is immediately attracted to him and invites him to go to the beach with her and her friends. Harlan accepts at the cost of his job, simply walking away from it. The two form an instant relationship and all appears sweet.

But when Tobe's father Wade finds out about it, he's less than happy. Harlan tries to steal into his good graces but Wade will have none of it. His parental guard goes up and puts the brakes on their relationship.

Initially we're pulling for Harlan and Tobe to become the ideal star-crossed lovers, battling family and circumstances in order to ride off into the sunset. But all is an illusion as we see Harlan's cowboy facade crumbling under the weight of a doomed relationship. Not willing to give up, Harlan tries anything he can fathom to get back into the family's good graces. This includes taking young Lonnie out shooting, stealing horses for daylong trips, and finally doing the unthinkable of unthinkables.

The fascinating portrayal of a wannabe cowpoke in today's society is excellently done by Edward Norton. He is so adorable in the beginning that most female viewers will probably fawn over him. But when his steady psychological break starts showing, a terrible realization hits the audience; Harlan isn't Harlan at all.

The film comes complete with panoramic views of the San Fernando Valley atop lush hills, giving us a truly western feel to the movie, and there's even a quick draw shoot out that'll both entertain and repulse most movie watchers.

The only downside is the ending. With all that happened to Tobe, Lonnie, and Wade at the hands of Harlan, it didn't make sense that they would "honor" him in this way (no spoilers).


But this is still a fantastic psychological, modern day western. Norton is lovable and creepy both at the same time.

This small film stuck with me after one viewing, mostly due to Edward Norton's touching and subtle performance. He portrays Harlan Carruthers, a drifter who inhabits the persona of a South Dakota cowboy working in the San Fernando Valley. For a good part of the movie, the viewer is not sure how much of that persona is fantasy, and how much is fact - but the thing is, Harlan isn't sure, either, and that lends his character its sad charm. While working at a gas station he meets October ("Tobe") a sexually forward but emotionally adrift 17-year-old (Evan Rachel Wood), and her 13-year-old brother, Lonnie, nicely played by Rory Culkin (who gave such a lovely performance as Mel Gibson's son in M. Knight Shmaylan's "Signs"). Tobe and Lonnie are spending an aimless summer hanging out in the cultural desert of the smog-ridden San Fernando Valley. They have no mother, and are being raised by one Wade, played by the often underrated David Morse. Wade works in the correctional system, and leaves the two children to their own devices much of the time, seesawing back and forth between neglect and overprotectiveness. Wade is not Lonnie's biological father, and it is unclear whether he is Tobe's biological father, and how he came to be the children's only parent - this unresolved issue is about the only narrative flaw in the film.

When Harlan and Tobe meet at the gas station, she immediately senses something "different" about him and invites him to go to the beach with her and her friends. A romance quickly develops, although Harlan is clearly a good bit older than Tobe. Harlan presents, initially, a gentle and philosophically evolved persona that entrances not only Tobe, but the attention-starved Lonnie as well. As the film progresses, and Wade's disapproval of the relationship exerts pressure on Harlan and the two youngsters, Harlan's quirky but sweet aura begins to reveal darker dimensions. For a long time, the viewer is uncertain whether Harlan is what he seems, and if he is not, how much of his pretense represents a danger to Tobe and Lonnie. Norton does an exceptional job of pacing the small shifts that begin to change the viewer's perception of Harlan.

Eventually, the divide between fact and fantasy that Harlan's presence in their lives uncovers forces Tobe and Lonnie to come to grips with harsh realities, pain, and loss. They mature through the experience, but part of their maturing is a curious understanding at the last that what Harlan at first offered was valuable and worth wanting, even though it was offered under false pretences. It is clear at the end that the adults do not share the youngsters' understanding of this, and that the experience, although it has on some level justified the adults' judgment, widens rathar than narrows the gap between them and the children.

This is a poignant story, well written and well played, and is absolutely worth your time.