Down in the Valley

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David W @RT37874054 May 19, 2026 If you like clear good guys vs. bad guys, this post-modern tragic love story isn't for you. Edward Norton is, of course, a great actor, but the plot does not rise to his level. Perhaps the star-crossed lovers was his reason for lending his talent to this all-too-real and disappointing look at the unfortunate twists of modern reality. Life is messy and complicated, but we usually go to the theater to get a break from that. Just picture George from "It's a Wonderful Life", when he reaches his lowest point, instead of jumping off a bridge, he shoots a few guys, his wife, and then ends up being gunned down by his wife's bully-father. There you go. Now you don't need to watch this movie. See more mark g @Mark_Alan_G. Jul 8, 2024 Strong cast and direction. Throw in some great imagery of the valley and really good music, you got a strong film. I really got in to this film and enjoyed it immensely. See more Georgan G @RT98616417 Jun 2, 2024 The sad story of a troubled young man who lives in a fantasy. Outwardly, he does only loving things, but he is unable to control his impulses. Finally, his inner life collides with reality. See more Steve D @RT35616104 Feb 1, 2024 Strong cast and nothing else. See more Terry S @RT84781810 Oct 20, 2023 Well-filmed and acted but, for me at least, ultimately disturbing and depressing. See more ronald h @RT44372985 Feb 12, 2022 "Down in the Valley" is one of those films in which so many things go wrong due to stupid decisions, you want to yell at the screen. The valley here is not the one in the old western song; it's the modern San Fernando Valley in California, where gas station attendant and wannabe cowboy Harlan (Edward Norton) is filling up a station wagon full of teenage girls. One of the girls, Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) is attracted to his aw-shucks, ma'am persona, and she invites him to accompany them to the beach. He immediately quits his job and takes off with them. He and Tobe immediately fall into some version of love (He's in his 30's she's maybe 17), which doesn't bode well with Tobe's dad Wade (David Morse—Is there a more underrated actor out there?), a corrections officer and single parent who doesn't keep a real close eye on his daughter and her younger brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin). Harlan is basically a homeless drifter who imagines himself a cowboy from the old west. After he takes Tobe on a horseback ride on a stolen horse and gives Lonnie shooting lessons under a freeway overpass, Wade threatens him with a gun and orders him to keep away from his kids. Suffice it to say, things go downhill from there. Turns out, exactly as we suspected from the start, that Harlan has quite a few screws loose. When he's alone in his ratty motel room, he stands in front of the mirror with a gun, having imaginary shootouts with imaginary characters. We know this is going to end badly. It does—in two ways: first for the characters, and secondly, for us. Crazy enough to begin with, the film descends into depths of absurdity that virtually demolish our suspension of disbelief. Yet it's so audacious, and Norton's insane performance is so convincing, that we keep hanging on for the ride. I was slack-jawed through much of the last third of the movie. But I was surely not disinterested. See more Read all reviews

Down in the Valley

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