Down in the Valley (2005)
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 101
Fresh: 52 | Rotten: 49
The premise of Old West clashing with modern suburbia is fresh and initially intriguing, but the second act degenerates into a clumsy jumble of events which strain credibility.
Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 18
The premise of Old West clashing with modern suburbia is fresh and initially intriguing, but the second act degenerates into a clumsy jumble of events which strain credibility.
liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 39,090
Movie Info
A romance between a teenage girl and a thirtysomething drifter takes the young woman down a dangerous and unexpected path in this independent drama. Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) is a pretty 18-year-old whose father, Wade (David Morse), is the sheriff of a town in California's San Fernando Valley. Tobe is driving to the beach with some friends when she stops at a filling station and meets gas jockey Harlan (Edward Norton), who dresses like a cowpoke and claims to have recently relocated to Los Angeles
Cast
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Edward Norton
Harlan -
David Morse
Wade -
Evan Rachel Wood
Tobe -
Rory Culkin
Lonnie -
John Diehl
Steve -
Bruce Dern
Charlie -
Geoffrey Lewis
Sheridan -
Muse Watson
Bill Sr. -
Kat Dennings
April -
Aaron Fors
Jeremy -
Hunter Parrish
Kris -
Aviva
Sherri -
Heather Ashleigh
Shell -
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Down in the Valley Trailer & Photos
All Critics (106) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (49) | DVD (11)
Both actors work hard to give this disturbing crime story some flavor and substance, but the narrative is overextended and poorly organized.
Top CriticStrange but compelling.
It aims to be a Badlands for a new generation. It's closer to The O.C. with horses.
Even if this drama from David Jacobson can't quite cover all the territory the director-writer is looking to survey, it still's one of the most original movies in a long time.
Jacobson kicks up a lot of dust here, but as it begins to settle, the movie becomes more and more muddled.
Norton sells it, as far as all of this can possibly go. Even if you doubt some of the action, you never doubt the existence of Harlan, a man out of time and out of options.
Jacobson examines the life and death of the western and its incompatibility with the youth of today ... a fascinating, yet slightly off-balance, mix of tribute and scrutiny.
The values of past and present collide in this beautifully shot, finely acted reexamination of the American Dream.
A tale which, apart from its basic conceptual kinship to classic western films, is wholly original and deeply prescient about the darker shoals of human nature.
Nerve-less.
When the story disintegrates into the gunfight at the 'I'm-not-okay-corral', it totally loses anything it had going for it.
A cautionary tale about the dangers of casual sex, or even casual friendships with strangers.
The more you know about it the less likable it becomes.
The movie does not waste the performances, but the screenplay could have served them better.
Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood turn in strong lead performances, but their talent alone isn't enough to set David Jacobson's sun-bleached, modern-day Western on fire.
A ludicrous, would-be Western hybrid.
It spins out of control despite the best efforts of Norton.
...if you don't require moral instruction with your popcorn, it's probably as close as you're going to get to a John Ford Western this year.
The unpredictable, jarring "Down in the Valley" is another worthy addition to Norton's résumé.
... part homage to the Western genre and part eulogy to a disappearing American West, and the intentions of which are as cryptic and enigmatic as the look on Norton's face.
Norton earns sympathy, but even he can't sell some of Harlan's poetry-of-the-people eloquence, as when the cowboy comments: 'Most days I just want to step outside my own heart and go walk under a sky full of stars.'
Norton's brilliant performance walks the tightrope effortlessly, playing for our sympathies while arousing our suspicions.
There's no depth to the story, and as the thrills start to kick in, Down in the Valley becomes a B-movie - less a modern epic Western than a two-reel oater with a cheap cliffhanger.
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Movie: ID: 155654880 Title: Down in the Valley Release Date: 2005-06-16 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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