Down in the Valley

2005

Action / Drama / Romance / Thriller

13
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 53% · 100 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 53% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 19454 19.5K

beach indian territory stetson san fernando valley strange person dramatic

Plot summary

On a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe meets a charismatic stranger named Harlan, 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, a lawman, is suspicious of her lover.

Director

David Jacobson Photo
David Jacobson

Top cast

Edward Norton Photo
Edward Norton as Harlan
Kat Dennings Photo
Kat Dennings as April
Ray Buffer Photo
Ray Buffer as Biker
Anthony Reynolds Photo
Anthony Reynolds as Rent-A-Cop
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
1.05 GB
1280*522
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 57 min
Seeds 5
2.16 GB
1920*784
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 57 min
Seeds 8

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by antoniotierno 7 / 10

intense psychodrama

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.
Reviewed by jrosenf1 6 / 10

failed to live up to expectations

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.
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