The movie: Down in the Valley The director: David Jacobson
Despite having hatched an exceedingly high concept, writer-director David Jacobson (“Dahmer”) fails to achieve tremendous elevation in “Down in the Valley,” an ambitious but imperfect modern-day take on classic Hollywood westerns. Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood shine as Harlan, an anomalistic 30-something cowpoke from South Dakota, and Tobe, a rebellious suburban teenager, who fall for one another in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley. Jacobson’s grasp of the Peckinpah-esque style of Westerns is impressive, and he effectively conjures the aura of loneliness and isolation endemic to LA’s sprawling, highway-strewn suburbs, but at times the incongruous pairing has the unfortunate effect of distracting us from the central narrative.
Despite the film’s shortcomings, it boasts several strong performances. For as good as Norton and Wood are, the ever-reliable David Morse fares even better as Tobe’s father, Wade, a rough-cut guard at a juvenile detention center struggling to raise two kids on his own (Rory Culkin plays 13-year-old loner Lonnie). Wade disapproves of Stetson-wearing Harlan from the get-go, pegging him as more of a creep than a curiosity, and it isn’t long before his suspicions prove to be on the mark. Jacobson puts too fine a point on this in a ridiculous scene that has Harlan in front of mirror getting in touch with his inner Travis Bickle. This sets the stage, unfortunately, for a third act in which credulity is stretched beyond the limits.
