DOWN IN THE VALLEY A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
In DOWN IN THE VALLEY, Edward Norton, as a mysterious simpleton named Harlan, gives one of his least compelling performances. An excessively well mannered boy of a man, he is clearly not at all what he claims to be, which is a South Dakota cowboy now living a carless existence in the car-crazed suburbs of Southern California.
While pumping gas for a living at a service station, Harlan is invited to the beach one day by Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood), short for October, and her teenage friends, who all look to be about sixteen and less than half of Harlan's age. When they first see him, they call him a "hick," and ask him, "Are you for real?" Good question, even if rather rhetorical.
Harlan claims to have never traveled the hour to the beach before. In a story in which none of the characters ever rings true, Tobe acts like going to the beach is a common occurrence for her, but her creamy white skin and her skimpy bikini top prove that this has to be one of her rare outings under the sun. She apparently does not suffer any sunburn pain that day since she quickly seduces Harlan when they go back that night to his apartment. A soft spoken nymph, Tobe never questions her new squeeze, being entranced by the big smile he keeps under his ever-present cowboy hat.
Even if Tobe naively trusts Harlan, Wade (David Morse), her stepfather and a single dad who works as a Corrections Officer, doesn't. But the angrier Wade gets toward Harlan and Tobe, the more rebellious his daughter becomes. "I know all about you, and I'm not buying what you're selling," Wade tells Harlan as he tries to get him to stay away from his daughter. Wade also wants him to stay away from Lonnie (Rory Culkin), Tobe's younger brother.
What Tobe and Wade don't see and we do is Harlan's time when he's home alone. Practicing fast draw with real six -shooters, he is like a mild mannered cowboy version of something out of TAXI DRIVER. He is also like a six-year-old playing a pretend cowboy, as he acts out old TV westerns by himself, which causes his neighbors to bang on the walls, telling him to quieten down.
The story meanders like a lazy stream in summer until it arrives at the last act, which everyone in the audience knows has to be tragic. What is surprising is how ironic and off-the-wall weird the film becomes. Harlan find himself holed up in a movie set in which a Western is underway. This act is as improbable as it is strangely intriguing. At least it grabs your attention, something that can't be said of most of the rest of the movie.
DOWN IN THE VALLEY runs too long at 1:54. It is rated R for "violence, sexual content, language and drug use" and would be acceptable for most teenagers.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the Century theaters.
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