Down in the Valley (2005) User Reviews (117)

I invited Tex to the beach Down in the Valley

[jaredmobarak · 7/10 · 5 April 2007]

I'm not quite sure exactly how I felt about Down in the Valley. At many times I thought it was a gorgeous film, shot perfectly, but at others I felt uncomfortable and shocked. We are given a love story between a troubled young man and a high school girl trapped in a family that could self-destruct at any moment. These two have been on a journey to find themselves, and in each other's kindred spirits finds another to help steer them onto the right course. However, a relationship like this cannot last. Whether or not you throw in the hot-tempered father, the shy brother lacking in gumption, or the voice inside our lead's head, the tale is one ripe for tragedy. I guess that means it all hinges on the story that gets you from the beginning to the end and whether it is one that was worth the journey. Despite the numerous moments that seemed out of place, and those that stirred discomfort, I will have to conclude that the path is ultimately one I'm glad I took. The great moments were a sight to behold and the tough ones did their job because I still can't shake them.

If nothing else, the acting is top-notch. Evan Rachel Wood is truly amazing for a girl her age. From the little girl in Digging to China, to the rebellious teen in Thirteen, I can't believe how poised she is in all she does. Whereas someone like Anna Paquin fell off the map, as she got older, I think Wood will be around for quite awhile, and I can't wait for Across the Universe later this year. In this film, she encompasses the role of a young woman trying to break free from her stifling yet loose family life into a relationship that is too much for someone of her maturity to completely understand. When she slowly realizes what she is a part of, it is too late, and her mixture of fear with the love she still holds is heartbreaking. David Morse also brings a brilliant performance to the table. A long time character actor, he plays the formidable, sheriff type well, yet has the emotional range to portray the compassion he has underneath the rough exterior. His role is a man that is doing his best, but only when tragedy strikes does he realize how much love he has to give. Rory Culkin rounds out the supporting cast showing nice restraint in a confused young boy unable to differentiate good from bad as the good does what seems bad in order to protect and the bad puts on the façade of good to win him over.

In the end, the real force of the movie is Edward Norton. It's good to see that after his little hiatus from acting, he has come back better than ever. His character Harlan is a complex man with a past that has made him regress into the age of chivalrous western ranches. You can see it in his eyes that the world wronged him in some way and he needed to become a part of a moment in time where people mattered and not material objects. When he ends up in an old west film set and watches the extras dancing and enjoying life in its bear form, the ecstatic look on his face shows it all. Harlan doesn't know who he is and the love of this very young girl puts him into a world that threatens the façade he has worked hard to build. The drugs and the selfishness and the pain wreak havoc on his mind and he begins to let his past anger rise back to the surface. Every moment as he continues on his journey is true to him; when he changes reality to suit his survival, he believes every word he is saying. Something is broken in him, and no one could have portrayed it better than Norton.

I do think, though, that the acting is too good for the film. Morse and Norton are so effective in showing the dual nature of their characters that you end up feeling cheated never finding out what happened in their lives to get them to the points they are at when we are introduced to them. The script never allows us to see any of the characters' motivations, only the slice of life we are shown on screen. Is Harlan the son of a Rabbi? just a troubled youth with a criminal record? both? and if so what happened to make him try and forget it all? These are questions that the movie makes you ask, but never gives any answers to. To have a beautifully shot scene of Norton and Wood out in the country with a wonderful transition sequence involving a swing-set and then at the end progress to an outlaw gunfight chase is all at once jarring and effective, and yet insufficiently explained. These characters are so complex, I just wish the film did more to help us understand them all rather than just show us what happens when their cultures clash in the game of love. Definitely worth a look, but ultimately an underachieving film that had the makings for greatness.

Lacking true drama.

[imseeg · 5/10 · 29 May 2022]

I thought I had seen all of Edward Norton's movies, but I couldnt remember having seen this one.

The bad: it didnt leave a lasting impression. It's not a bad movie, simply a lackluster one. Nothing much happens for the first hour and only at the end there is a bizarre violent final, which is out of place.

The good: Edward Norton is a great actor. He does his best to get into his character, but somehow I didnt buy into it...

failed to live up to expectations

[jrosenf1 · 6/10 · 22 July 2006]

Like many other posters have stated, I wanted to like this film; it seemed to have a lot going for it (great cast, interesting plot, terrific visuals). So I dug in and stayed through to the end, hoping it would at least come to a satisfying conclusion. Well it didn't. For one thing, it was about 30 minutes too long- from the opening scenes when Tobe (Wood) meets Harlan (Norton) you know two things are guaranteed: they are going to fall in love, and something tragic is going to happen. Problem is, the director throws in so much unnecessary filler (trippy scenes at a club, repetitive family squabbles) that the focus of the story gets off track.

At its heart this film is a character study/slice of life piece. Tobe, a teenage girl rebelling from her overbearing, violent but caring father Wade (David Morse) and Harlan, a wannabe cowboy with childhood abandonment issues who lives in a delusional world, hook up at a gas station; she is immediately smitten with his "aw shucks" attitude and his focus on her. Harlan tries to ingratiate himself into her family life, attempting to smooth things over with dad and befriending her younger brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin in another mesmerizing turn), who has no male role model in his life (he is adopted, and neglected, by Wade). You know things are going to turn sour when these twisted lives intertwine, especially when we see that Harlan likes to act out old Westerns in his room, using real six shooters. Throw in the fact that Tobe's dad is a corrections officer, veteran, and avid gun collector, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this crush is going to end badly. But when the tragic events finally do unfold, it's not in the manner I expected, nor hoped; plus the finale drags on to the point where I was praying for it to end already (not a good one to watch after midnight).

This one had so much potential, and there WAS a lot to like about the film: the performances were stellar across the board, the cinematography depicted beautiful images of the new San Fernando Valley where it collides with the Old West, and the ideas were ambitious and commendable. But with some editing and a tighter script, this intriguing little indie could have really been a keeper.

intense psychodrama

[antoniotierno · 7/10 · 5 February 2007]

Edward Norton's troubled character is really strong, reminding somehow Taxi Driver's De Niro - though not so immense. The story is well-told and generates suspense and melancholy, plus David Morse is in my opinion a very talented actor and Rachel Wood's performance is nothing bad. That's why I reckon this revisionist Western is cryptic and enigmatic at the same time, powerful would say. On the other hand the lead actor is one of the best nowadays and this time, playing the role of a potential psychopath turning into a real psychopath, manages to be extremely believable. The Los Angeles setting as well is very appropriate.

Saw Too Many Westerns As A Kid

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 24 June 2006]

Edward Norton plays a disturbed young man who apparently saw way too many westerns as a kid and starts thinking of himself as a cowboy. He dresses the part, creates a whole new identity for himself from South Dakota and one day invades the lives of a family with some horrifying results.

Bored California Valley Girl Evan Rachel Ward picks him up while on the way to the beach with friends and its an instant attachment. Father David Morse doesn't like Norton from the gitgo, but Norton even makes a convert of Ward's younger brother Rory Culkin.

It's a strange film, but with some fascinating performances by the cast members, especially Norton. He's really so bought into his own self mythology that he almost convinces the audience he's genuine. In fact his special place is a former western studio set where towards the climax of the film, he finds them shooting a remake of My Darling Clementine as he wakes up. Of course in the middle of all this, real law enforcement finds him, setting up the climax.

It's an interesting film, but I wonder did they ever finish that remake of My Darling Clementine?

Nonononononononono!

[ThatDoesntMatter · 22 August 2011]

You don't betray your 'hero' 2/3 into the movie...because you are betraying the audience as well, and while twists can be interesting, this one was, while surprising, so off-putting, that I lost all interest - and it wasn't that much at that point anyway...

The film starts veeeerrryyyy slow. Nothing happens, oh, okay, an indie flick with pretentious cinematography and a bunch of Valley losers - boring and depressing...and I mind the boring part much more than the depressing part!

A cardboard cut-out volatile dad whose character is not developed at all. A teenage daughter who, while in conflict with daddy, is not really a rebel at all, just a leeeetle easy... A younger half-brother or something who has anxieties from who knows where, I suspected daddy of wrongdoing, but it turned out dad's just a little neglecting and over-protective, but essentially a good guy...great.

A cowboy from South Dakota who's not a cowboy from South Dakota but a Jewish ex con from the Valley, and a psychopath to boot. Puh- leeeze, are you kidding me?

So, forget the first hour, forget the love story, he shoots her and goes off without caring what happens to her...hello??? Why would I care what he does after that??? I mean, except repenting or something...or being responsible for his actions, something he professed to believe in in another movie - the one of the first hour...haha, how funny, it was all a show...NOT funny, NOT shocking, JUST boring.

Oh my, what did this movie want to be???

Bad script.

And I love Ed, I really do, and he IS great in this (until that stupid twist, then it all slides downhill...), but I really wish I hadn't wasted my time with this film...

Superb cinema, drift into it and then leave

[anne-bennett-1 · 6/10 · 4 June 2006]

Good post-modern cowboy stuff - ignore idea of romance, if your bloke thinks Harlan has saving graces you will need a serious chat. Evan R Wood is brilliant as an authentic teen working out stuff about life and boundaries, and uses her intelligence, where Harlan has lost his options in that area and functions off a thin script about life lived from minute to minute - and not in a good way. Wade is a fabulous hero, destined not to be noticed or given his credit, but I salute his morality and war-weary, inescapable world wisdom. The recurring filmic images of Californian environs and lifestyles seem to agree these days that no film set is required - think bleak, parched, sieged souls and a simple faith in those minute-by-minute lives.

Great performances, so-so story

[jimmythegeek · 7/10 · 31 May 2006]

I really like Ed Norton, and I was interested to see if he could pull off the cowboy role. He really did. He didn't need any latitude from the truth behind his character, he would have fit in with Clint Eastwood in the 1970s. Ms. Wood is luminous - she's pretty much the focus of the cinematography, and for good reason. The romance between the two leads is sweet and powerful. David Morse is really, really good as the step dad.

There are some production glitches - Norton's facial hair changes from full goatee to clean shaven to stubble and back overnight. There's a low-budget feel, and I didn't buy the sequence in the middle of a film shoot. It felt contrived.

So, is there room in Southern California for a real, rootin' tootin' cowboy? Of course not. So what do you do about it? I didn't get any real answers. If the point is the delusion, "King of Comedy" presented the deluded in a compelling way. In this one, the delusion isn't enough by itself. If the point is the doomed outlaw romance, "Badlands" really dominates. I thought Malick had more budget to work with, but that's not the case, even inflation adjusted. Malick just had more story to work with.

I give it points for having a theme, but it's not really well done. But the performances are amazing.

Challenging and Rewarding

[CityBoy44 · 10/10 · 18 June 2005]

I had the opportunity to see this film at Cannes and then again at it's 'real' debut at the LA Film Festival. What a difference! Apparently the filmmakers were anxious to get to Cannes and had not finished the editing. Although I liked it before-- this version really hits the spot without the confusing extras that were still at Cannes. I'm glad I gave it a second chance and in fact I'm now anxious to see it again when it's released. The film is very layered and subtle. It is beautifully shot and the four main characters are original and yet painfully familiar in their alienation, anger, and despair. The Cowboy character played by Edward Norton seems so simple at first but as he is drawn into the family his character and the truth of his 'being' gradually unravels in ways that left me speechless at the end of the film. The character played by Rory Culkin, "Twig", says very little throughout the film and yet he conveys a sense of yearning and loneliness almost too painful to bare. But even he undergoes an unexpected transformation by the end of the film. My favorite though, was Evan Rachel Wood. I think she steals the show... without trying at all. Her emotions and rebelliousness are raw and totally authentic. She is a luminous creature on the screen. Her relationship with the Cowboy seemed unlikely at first and then became completely believable, especially in the bathtub scene. My main criticism is that the film is demanding. If you're not in the mood to sink into a fairly deep experience with some shocking moments and unpredictable outcomes--don't waste your time. This is a film for lovers of independent film and psychological kinds of cinema. There are also several scenes that border on surrealism. I'd be interested to know more about the making of this film and look forward to the DVD. I imagine this film may take awhile to be discovered but it holds tremendous rewards for those patient and thoughtful enough to venture into it.

Compelling first half fizzles under dramatic intentions

[oneloveall · 6/10 · 16 September 2006]

Independent drama announcing the return of Norton the actor as opposed to Norton the sleepwalking paycheck casher. No sooner is this announced then with the blatant pre-title "Edward Norton in" before announcing any other credits, which I found to be slightly arrogant, nowhere near the hubris of a "Quentin Tarantino presents", but nonetheless an egotistical gesture. To Norton's credit, he does find some of his most heartfelt, subtle, and perceptive work since his compelling material days, through the troubled and mysterious rancher that he plays here. Unfortunately, the "Edward Norton in" aspect does become apparent when all is said and done; clearly this was a repositioning role Norton had staked a lot in (even putting his neck out there to raise hell when the film had trouble getting picked up for distribution) to help give his career a much needed indie boost. Although the performance is uniformly solid, actions described during the latter half of this odd script do tend to take away any serious consideration for the character invested viewers were making up until that point. While things veer from enjoyable, even painfully beautiful and rife with bittersweet sentiment, to uncharacteristically ludicrous with one swift motion, one still never looses sight of the passion Norton and company held out until the ambiguous resolution. It is this moral ambiguity that perhaps defined the film and it's subsequent controversy of not being able to "find a market" with US distributors, but ultimately this grey zone that could have yielded far more fruitful results ends up loosing relevance and potency due to the seemingly lazy transgression of events, tied into an underdeveloped sub-plot.

Hollywood's phony old west trope layered on today's burbs and freeway traffic

[roland-104 · 5/10 · 1 June 2006]

Harlan (Edward Norton), a psychopathic man who cannot begin to manage his own incomprehensible life, volunteers his talents to nearly ruin the lives of several other people in a trendily dysfunctional single parent family he gloms onto. The screenplay is so gravid with circumstances that defy logic and credibility that the most generous thing one might say is that this story is meant to be taken as a fable. But if that's the case, what is it a fable about? Apparently it is about the ironically twisted remnants of a 19th century western myth, conjured by Real Estate Developers and Hollywood, a phony old west that is layered on the sprawling suburbs, jammed freeways and tacky streets that make up the real Southern California.

Harlan (not his given name), the former juvenile delinquent son of a rabbi, passes himself off as a cowboy from South Dakota. He even tries to convince himself of the validity of this identity, practicing gunslinger moves in front of the mirror in his rented room. He meets up with Tobe, short for October (Evan Rachel Wood), and they quickly get it on. Harlan soon insinuates himself into Tobe's and her kid brother Lonnie's life. Tobe stays out all night with Harlan, and there's an incident with the police involving Harlan and Tobe "borrowing" a horse without permission. Lonnie is dazzled by Harlan's attention.

None of this sits well with Wade, the father, who is a corrections officer, decorated war hero and gun collector. Wade orders Harlan out of the family's life, which merely whets Harlan's appetite for deeper involvement, a quest to rescue Tobe and Lonnie from Wade. Things seem destined for disaster from the getgo and that's what happens.

Trouble is that the pivotal character, Harlan, is not believable. He seems too resourceful to be desperate, too smooth to be crazy, too big a knucklehead to be a con, and too goodhearted to be plain evil. Yet at various points we are asked to think he is each or all of these things. He just doesn't ring true, despite the prodigious skills brought to the role by one of our best actors.

Evan Rachel Wood does OK here, especially in the transitional scenes when she begins to catch on that there's something way wrong with her fast moving boyfriend, but I preferred her similar character in the more substantive film, "Thirteen." David Morse's Wade is a highly believable mix of incendiary aggression and genuine though inconsistent parental concern.

Rory Culkin also shines here as Lonnie, a kid hungering for adult male closeness, something Wade does not offer but Harlan does. The film might have risen to greater stature had this theme been made more central, developing further the parallel between Lonnie's deprivation and vulnerability, and Harlan's own estrangement from his father, which we learn about only through letters Harlan writes to him.

The best thing about the movie is its ironic portrayal of place. Writer/director David Jacobson created some wonderful scenes to visually contrast the nostalgic old west trope with life today in the San Fernando Valley: a real shootout on a western movie set; man and horse hiding not in the rocks but in an unfinished new tract McMansion; six gun target practice in a river made of concrete; undeveloped hills intercut with freeway traffic. A good short film might have been made of such scenes, a meditation on what suburban sprawl has done to obliterate nature.

I know a fellow (whose father played cowboy bit parts in Hollywood movies many years ago) who tried to create a horse-based life for himself in the Valley. He ended up moving to Idaho instead, to an area that is fast becoming a little San Fernando Valley itself hese days. My grade: C+ 5/10

Norton at what he does best--inhabiting his character

[pjs48 · 8/10 · 28 July 2007]

The film's first 45 minutes to an hour are slow, but not without purpose. It sets the stage, allowing Norton to do what he's done well throughout his career; he outlines, builds, defines, and justifies his character's actions, thereby resulting in another intense yet effortless and simply riveting performance. Norton, IMHO, is likely to be doing this same thing three decades from now. He may well be the American Michael Caine, moving between leading man and scene stealing supporting actor in film after film and at a performance level that rarely dips below "spot on."

Evan Rachel Wood, while hardly stretching beyond her petulant, teen rebel persona, does a very credible job, as does Rory Culkin as Wood's younger brother. David Morse, as brooding, explosive, and understated as ever, is solid in his role as Wood's somewhat predictable, but no less authentic father.

This is a clever, crafted, and satisfying film that delivers. Again, it takes a while to get started, but it proves its mettle.

Something different.

[addoneforthem · 7/10 · 4 March 2007]

Here, we see Norton taking on a role that puts him on a different level than what you normally see him in. His character, Harlan, a lonesome yet psychotic cowboy working at a gas station, meets with this girl named Tobe (Wood)and it's love at first sight for both of the two. Harlan decides to quit his job and head over with Tobe and her friends to the beach, and right away the two have began a passionate relationship with each other. This is disapproved by Tobe's father (Morse), who sees another side of Harlan right from the start, and things start to become tense.

Edward Norton, he's always impressing the audience with his exceptional talent. There isn't one moment where he fails to show us that he's put up a great performance in any movie. I believe he saved this movie from becoming a mediocre film. Sadly, I think it's only his performance that's truly memorable. Everyone else was okay, but Norton definitely stands out.

This movie is also something that I couldn't really get into, especially in the first 10-15 minutes. I don't care what others think, because this really wasn't the type of movie that I could get into. My friend recommended this to me (she loves Westerns), and she knows her movies, but this one was probably the most unusual choice she gave me. I started getting into the story when I realized how much trouble Norton's character was towards the father. It really made him become abusive towards his daughter and raised tensions between him and Harlan.

Definitely something different that I've seen Norton do. It was great and all, but I don't think I could watch this twice. Only once is fine with me, because in my opinion, it's not really memorable.

A whole lot of not much

[pb104-1 · 5/10 · 22 February 2006]

A slow moving, entirely predictable drama about a would-be cowboy (Edward Norton) and a teenage girl who picks him up at a gas station on her way to the beach, leading to an affair and ultimately to violence. From the first half-hour it was clear where this story was going, and the only question remaining was who would get shot on the way there. Edward Norton's surprisingly one-note performance, the same old father-daughter conflict, and the loving close-ups of guns in the protagonist's hands makes it obvious who's going to do the shooting as the film progresses. As Norton's character becomes increasingly unhinged, he spends more time in his cowboy fantasy, No one seems to notice until he starts shooting, probably because his character appears to stay the same . The high point is a great performance by Bruce Dern as a grumpy horse owner. The supporting cast is adequate to the job, but the lack of surprises in the script, and the flatness of the direction make this a very minor addition to the resumes of the people involved.

Downer in the Valley.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 21 April 2007]

Slow-paced sad story of a young man (Ed Norton) who lives in a kind of evidence-free zone that is mostly inside his own head. He's an undistinguished, untalented loser who totes guns and seems to have a certain naive charm that appeals to inexperienced women.

Delusional loners with guns aren't rare on the screen. Here it's as if someone were analyzing the DNA of "Taxi Driver" and got it contaminated with bits of "Badlands" and "Lonely Are the Brave" and even "Shane." Some of the scenes are almost exact copies. Well, let's call them a homage. Instance Norton packing a pair of six shooters, talking to himself in the mirror while stoned. "You a screwhead? Well that's what we used to call you. Oh, you come from a long line of screwheads? Who you talking' to? You talking' -- you talking' to ME? Well, I'm the only one here." (I think I contaminated the DNA too.) Early in the film, the father of two kids (David Morse) advises the younger one, a boy, that there is nothing in the world as important as guts. You can't learn to have guts. You're born with them. (He passes on this advice to his son while playing with a double-action Colt peacemaker. "Peacemaker." Enjoy the irony.) Ed Norton turns out to have guts to spare. He's willing to take all kinds of risks, sometimes even going so far as to tell the truth. He falls for Evan Rachel Wood and vice versa and, despite her father's objections, Wood carries on with him in an innocent way. Don't worry. There are no nude shots of the toothsome Wood, nor any sex scenes, dammit. (She does appear in a swim suit and it must be said she's developing a pelvic girdle to be proud of.) She's still a teenager, young enough to dip a tentative toe into Norton's ideas but old enough to know where to draw the line about trying to live them out.

Basically the movie involves a confrontation between Norton and Morse. Failing in his efforts to get Wood to run away with him, Norton more or less kidnaps the boy and takes him on horseback into the mountains where they eat a rabbit and have a shoot out with the authorities. After a chase Norton is finally brought down in an empty, half-built skeletal and antiseptic housing project devouring what little Mediterranean wilderness is left on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Wounded, he stares about him and moans, "Lord, I don't want to die in a place like this." Amen, brother.

Well, we don't want to run out of space. There are a couple of interesting things about this movie and they make it well worth watching. The performances are uniformly good for one thing. The script takes us on a horseback tour of Norton's necrotic head without subjecting us to hallucinatory negative images, down-cranked cameras, second-long flashbacks or any other directorial self display.

Guns are all over the place. At one point or another, Bruce Dern points a rifle at Norton, the police point guns at Dern, Morse presses a revolver against Norton's head, Norton teaches the kid how to fan a six shooter, Norton shoots Morse, Morse shoots Norton, Norton shoots Wood, Norton shoots rabbit, cops shoot Norton, Norton shoots Dern, Norton shoots a rent-a-cop, and -- well, I forget. What it teaches us is very clear though. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. Therefor the solution is both clear and simple. Let's get rid of the people. Shoot 'em all down if we have to.

Last note, and this is important. If there is in any movie a hospital scene with a woman lying in bed unconscious, and if you can view that scene independent of the rest of the movie, you can judge the quality of the film from this one sample. A woman who is sick and all screwed up and lying in bed will look like Charlie's wife, Susan, in "Citizen Kane" after she tries to poison herself -- sweaty and ugly. A woman who is doing no more than playacting will look like the comatose Talia Shire in "Rocky III," with her face fully turned to the camera, carefully groomed, with false eyelashes like window awnings, and lip rouge or whatever it is, ready for the high school reunion. In "Down in the Valley," it's not bad. Evan Rachel Wood is unconscious and hanging on to life, and her head is tilted only slightly cameraward and her makeup is more subdued than in other scenes. Before entering the theater or renting the DVD, ask if there is a scene with a sick woman in bed. Then ask if you can watch that one scene before you dig out your wallet.

I may have sounded more critical of this film than I meant to. It's really not bad. And, homages to "My Darling Clementine" aside, there are times when it's thoroughly original and effective. Catch, for instance, the spooky scene in the mountains when Norton leads the kid off into the darkness, then disappears in the fog and the trees. It's cleverly written, photographed, and directed.

Something is going to change...

[futures-1 · 13 November 2007]

Starring Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, Rory Culkin, and David Morse. This is an interesting, psychological study, with a steady movement towards something… something… and you just know it's not what it first seems. All the moments, the drama, the settings are simply too typical, too sun-washed in a California suburb. Something is going to change for these characters. Slowly, you watch it unravel. It's subtle – even elegant – in its changes. Written and directed by David Jacobson, this story of lost souls trying to find something to believe in and ground them, is full of delicate, often sad, sometimes frightening words and actions. The story line stays strong, but only as the vehicle to take the characters on the journey. All four lead actors are wonderful. They don't overstate anything about their characters. I will see this one again.

The first hour is great, the second hour, not so much

[catgirl667 · 7/10 · 14 November 2006]

The first hour of this movie was deeply engrossing. Harlan was a wonderful romantic living by the "cowboy code," while Tobe was convincing as a rebellious teen pushed to the edge by her father's over-protectiveness. The naiveté that exists both in Harlan's simplicity and Tobe's youth ignites a brilliant chemistry that has made me unconsciously scout out local gas stations for my own Edward Norton-look alike cowboy to make out with on the way home from the beach. I fell in love watching this movie. Not with anyone or anything in particular, just the concept of a chance encounter that leads to fun and a passionate romance. Not many movies can have that kind of effect on me. I wanted Tobe to run away with Harlan. I didn't get scared of Harlan when he stole the horses or taught Lonnie how to shoot. If anything, I thought that he was being a better father figure that Wade was. The first hour was long and drawn out enough (it felt like two hours), that it could have been its own movie. The second hour was different. The second hour hardly made sense. The second hour was filled with allusions to separate plot lines that must not have made it into the final cut. In the second hour, the claims that the DVD jacket made of Harlan not being who he seemed were revealed without the fanfare or shock the we might more or less expect from an Edward Norton film. It could best be described as an "oh, well" moment. Couple that with the fact that we are led on an uninteresting chase through the hills of the Valley, and this movie ends up leaving you an "oh, well, that was interesting" feeling and a definite craving for the first hour. As if I could make another complaint, the movie was so slow placed that it felt much longer that its 114 minutes.

The "goofs" is "goofed"

[YopoM7777777 · 7/10 · 15 December 2006]

I read the "goofs" section here on the board, and went to back to view that section of the movie. The person who wrote the summary on the "goofs" has made a terrible goof. QUOTE: "Goofs: Crew or equipment visible: During the old western ceremony near the end of the film, crew and equipment are visible numerous times. A cameraman on a lift can be seen from Lonnie's P.O.V. when he wakes up, looking out at the music and dancing from the balcony. When Harlan admires the fiddlers, the same cameraman on the dolly is right above them, sitting with a camera, wearing sunglasses."

This western scene in on a movie set in the San Fernando Valley, where there are many such sets. They awoke to a film being made. The camera and props are there on purpose: They are central to the frame and the scene. The person who wrote the summary on the goofs has made a huge idiotic mistake in describing these things in the scene as a "goof". In fact, I just had to comment, because it's so obvious!

Leaning towards the swing

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 29 May 2006]

Greetings again from the darkness. This quiet little gem will probably disappear pretty quickly from theatres. I am not sure what caused the delay in its release, but for those of us who appreciate indie film-making and the importance of a decent story, it is well worth catching.

Ed Norton's performance is right there with his best work ("Fight Club" and "American History X"). He plays Harlan, a cowboy wannabe, who is delusional in his belief that he is just about the only good thing left in the world. Obviously carrying some childhood baggage, Harlan falls for the near mystical sight of Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) whom he first spots through the rear station wagon window while pumping gas. The shot is stunning in so many ways, it caused me to buy in to the film immediately. Also, watching Norton play with his guns is fascinating stuff.

There is little more I can say about Evan Rachel Wood than what I have said in my comments on her other films ("Thirteen" "Pretty Persuasion", etc). She is a shooting star with limitless potential. The best part about her (besides talent) is her willingness to take a risk on a great part, even if it is associated with a small film. She could easily take the Kirsten Dunst / Julia Stiles path and go mainstream Hollywood, but roles are what make a great actress, not box office. I can't wait to see what ERW accomplishes over the next 5, 10 even 20 years (she is only 18 years old!!!).

To give away too much of the story would be a shame because the story is a bit off center and definitely not formulaic. Watching Wood and Norton and Rory Culkin (so wonderful in "Igby Goes Down) grow into a near family pod is on one hand very cool, while on the other, downright creepy.

Taking another in his grinding teeth and jutting jaw Mr. Intensity roles is David Morse, who has come light years from his timid wimp doc role in the fabulous TV series St. Elsewhere. Also contributing to the film is the fine, sparse sounds of Peter Salett. His ballads are a very nice touch to the unusual sites director David Jacobson shows us in the San Fernando Valley. Who knew there was that much greenery remaining? The only thing preventing this one from being rated higher are the few scenes that dip into melodrama. Jacobson does not quite have the chops to pull off the full two plus hours of running time and there are some draggy scenes. The good news is there are many more excellent scenes and overall the story is fresh and original and well presented.

Shane with attitude

[keith-farman-1 · 9/10 · 7 June 2006]

Don't miss this elusive, allusive film if it hits a screen near you. See it before it becomes a cult movie. Profoundly American, it resonates with the contradictions of a culture whose real roots have been severed and is therefore struggling to live out its own mythology as a substitute. Desperately seeking sustenance and solace in a false memory of its real past.

There are echoes of Badlands in this story of an archetypal American drifter. Having no roots, personal, social or occupational, he tries to live by the simple, direct values of the mythical west whose fantasised reality he creates for himself. Harlan has cowboy skills that won't get him a job; and uncompromising personal and social attitudes of independence and individual freedom. If these were ever real in the wide-open spaces of the pioneering west, they have no place or space to be, in the claustrophobic urban, cheek-by-jowl industrial ugliness of contemporary America.

Ed Norton is one of the few actors around today who could sustain such a movie. And though all the supporting performances are excellent, Norton's powerful screen persona carries the weight of the film's strong atmosphere and tone. Norton's Harlan exudes danger. A sinister unpredictability of the superficially and misleadingly normal.

Evan Rachel Woods' rebellious teenager Tobe (short for 'October') impulsively invites gas station attendant Harlan to join her and her friends going to the beach. Just as impulsively, 30-something Harlan throws up his job and goes. Almost surprised by Tobe's overt sexual precociousness, Harlan's fantasised simple Texan cowboy self enters into a naïve, even tender romantic relationship with the half child, half woman, but fully sexual Tobe. In the process he befriends her introspective, almost autistic 13 year-old brother Lonnie (a first-class Rory Caulkin). None of this sits well with Tobe's father Wade, stepfather to Lonnie. Wade is a gun-collecting Vietnam war veteran turned prison warder whose short temper and aggressive but dangerously controlled and controlling personality, is both suspicious of and threatened by, Harlan's apparent openness, honesty and genuine feeling for both Tobe and Lonnie. His respectful attitude cuts no ice with the deeply suspicious Wade.

Jacobson's direction maintains a sense of distance from his characters by seldom going in close; concentrating largely on mid and two-shots. Exteriors stay long and convey a sense of expansiveness and scale reminiscent of traditional westerns, also used so effectively by Ang Lee in Brokeback Mountain. Elegant and simple editing creates an almost lyrical tone to Harlan and Tobe's burgeoning romance, which looks convincing yet carries an undertow of imminent menace. A superb and evocative soundtrack composed and largely performed by Peter Sallet, both musically and lyrically, reinforces this plaintive, elegiac tone. The apparent lightness of the unlikely romance is set against a brooding backdrop with more than a hint of an imminent storm. This is superb film-making, its various elements subtly blended together into a satisfying and affecting whole. Underpinned by Jacobson's own lean, expressive screenplay. In conception and execution this is very much Jacobson and Norton's (co-producer) film. Very personal.

A showdown with Wade sends Harlon off to re-visit his actual or fantasy past. We are left unsure. We become witness to the extent of his fantasised existence and this, with the sense of foreboding intimated earlier, turns the tone of the film darker and more disturbing. Throughout, recurring images echo the western fantasy Harlon lives out: escaping with both Tobe and Lonnie riding through the urban landscape, up to the hills; teaching Lonnie how to shoot; and playing out fantasy western scenes in his apartment. Shades of Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) here. A Shane with attitude. Harlan is highly skilled in the use of western-style handguns, quick-drawing and fast-shooting. It is no coincidence that guns convey a totemic power throughout the film both in Wade's love of collecting them and Harlan's passion for the skill in handling them. A gun figures in the critical dramatic event in the movie. This pivotal moment poses the thought that these essential tools of the pioneer opening up a vast and hostile country, become corrosive and subversive to the necessarily different basis of personal and social relationships in the densely populated urban setting of modern America. Right idea - wrong time.

The denouement of the film further blurs the line between fantasy and reality. Between old cherished verities and contemporary uncertainties. Again recalling Brokeback Mountain. Our feelings about Harlan, just like Lonnie who helps him against his stepfather, are deeply ambivalent. Like Tobe and Lonnie we have no frame of reference within which to judge Harlan appropriately. And to choose what Wade represents is unthinkable. As the brother and sister say their farewells to Harlan we are left with an impression not so much of an oddball with a deluded fantasy, as a man with a keen sense of a once genuine reality somehow misplaced in a time and place no longer capable of understanding or sustaining it.

A beautifully made, multi-layered film that engages and absorbs on a simple narrative level but which resonates with thoughtful and challenging ideas about today's America and its sense of cultural identity in relation to its past - real and imagined. A rare treat. See it.

Solid movie, well done

[snapon292000 · 7/10 · 11 June 2007]

I thought the movie was a little weak on providing action and I thought it had a bit of dryness in it but overall it had good substance and it was compelling after Norton's character shot Evan Rachel Wood until the rest of the movie.

I thought Rory Culkin also did a fine job and I think he's got much more potential than MacCauly ever did.

Norton's character was sort of an antagonist but not as much as the preview made it out to be. I would've expected him to be a serial killer or something. He pretty much seemed like a guy who was confused and in a midlife crisis more than a bad guy.

Can a movie that unravels be anything but..?

[igmcdonald · 1/10 · 4 June 2006]

I felt this movie started out well. The acting was spot on and I felt for all the characters situation, even though the true family unit was not completely revealed. We never got enough info on the father to truly feel his pain for his whole involvement or the build up for his animosity with Tobe. I mean in one scene you see him admiring her for tensity and in another scene he just about takes her head off. Another problem with the movie was it just unraveled and lost all focus by the end, and I was begging for it to just be over with. Any movie with such a long drawn out , and painful ending should never get an automatic rating of 7 or above just for the acting. We are looking at the over all quality of the movie experience. In the case of this movie the end is so bad I seriously contemplated just walking out of the theater. This movie pulled me in then just spit me out.

'Don't say anything, just think about it'

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 17 October 2006]

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

a guy off his meds

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 5 October 2021]

Ed norton is harlan, a loner, who pops us in the san fernanco valley, north of LA. He likes tobe (evan wood), who's much younger, and wants to spend all his time with her. But he's waaaay out there in some ways. Seems harmless, but lives in his own little world. Dad realizes harlan is much older, and a little challenged. Doesn't like him hanging around his daughter. Tobe is a rebellious teenager, who likes having a boyfriend around who will stand up to her father, but we know this can't end well. It's a showdown between harlan and tobe's dad, and it just spirals down. Co-stars rory culkin, bruce dern, john diehl. Written and directed by david jacobson. His previous film was dahmer, another story of a disturbed young man with relationship issues.

questions re the movie

[Grovea-1 · 5/10 · 22 May 2006]

I saw this movie in a theater in Maryland last week. I am totally confused. It was as if 1/2 of the movie wasn't shown-yet it was over 2 hours long. Ist off Ellen Burstyn who's name was in the credits was never shown AT ALL. The scene where they go to meet with her and her husband ( the Foster parents) was never shown ( I read about this scene in a synopsis of the movie) The scene where the father ( David Morse) is cleaning his gun was at a totally different part of the movie and the scene where you find out that The boy is not his son was never shown. Did anyone else see this version? I rated it a 5 because the beginning of the movie I liked. BUT nothing made sense after about 1 hour into the movie.