Down in the Valley

R

2005

1 hr. 54 min.

Drama

List

52%

101 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

On a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) meets a charismatic stranger named Harlan (Edward Norton), who dresses like a cowboy and claims to be a former ranch hand. The pair feel an instant attraction and begin a relationship, but her father (David Morse), a lawman, is suspicious of her lover.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Steve D

Strong cast and nothing else.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/01/24

Full Review

Terry S

Well-filmed and acted but, for me at least, ultimately disturbing and depressing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/20/23

Full Review

ronald h

"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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Jesse D

Something about this movie stayed with be the first time i saw it and never left. Maybe its the old west fable quality of it or Edward Norton's always good acting. A wonderful film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/28/21

Full Review

Audience Member

sad....great actor......eh movie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Review: This movie takes a while to get going and I did find it a bit of a drag in parts. The director wasted an hour at the beginning, on a weak love story and then it switches to a man on the run. From the beginning, the main character seemed a bit strange but the director doesn't really touch on his past. He just drifts along and struggles to live day to life for some unknown reason. Anyway, the acting was average and after the big build up, the showdown at the end was short-lived. Average! Round-Up: Edward Norton is another one of those actors that looked like he was going to have a promising career, but after some bad choices, his career hasnt been that great. From the disappointing Hulk to the average performance in the Bourne Legacy, he hasn't really touched the great performances in the Fight Club and American History X. I've always liked David Morse, but he always seems to act the same in all of his films. On the whole, this is one of those movies that won't really stick out in my head, but there are a couple of shocking moments that keep the movie slightly interesting. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $1million I recommend this movie to people who are into there deep dramas about a drifter who falls in love with a girl against the fathers wishes. 4/10

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

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David Jacobson

Director

Ed Norton

Harlan

Evan Rachel Wood

Tobe

David Morse

Wade

Rory Culkin

Lonnie

John Diehl

Steve

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Both actors work hard to give this disturbing crime story some flavor and substance, but the narrative is overextended and poorly organized.

Dec 18, 2006

Full Review

Marrit Ingman

Austin Chronicle

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.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Dave Calhoun

Time Out

Strange but compelling.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Jonathan Kiefer

Sacramento News & Review

Rated: 3/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

Christopher Campbell

Cinematical

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.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 18, 2007

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Film4

The values of past and present collide in this beautifully shot, finely acted reexamination of the American Dream.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jun 13, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

On a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) meets a charismatic stranger named Harlan (Edward Norton), who dresses like a cowboy and claims to be a former ranch hand. The pair feel an instant attraction and begin a relationship, but her father (David Morse), a lawman, is suspicious of her lover.

Director: David Jacobson
Executive Producer: Sam Nazarian, Stavros Merjos
Screenwriter: David Jacobson
Production Co: Element Films
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Rerelease Date (Theaters): May 5, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 11, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $568.7K
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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