Monday 18th April 2011
Director: David Jacobson
Year: 2005
Stars: Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, Rory Culkin, David Morse
Well, this was a bit odd. I only picked it because it was next on the list - I could remember almost nothing about it, other than (I think) it got fairly positive reviews when it was released.
The movie starts out as what feels like a fairly standard romance drama. It all feels quite nice and gentle, and is engaging enough - although you do get the feeling that something is boiling away beneath the service. Things slowly get odder and odder, with the film eventually turning into a rather odd cross between a Bonnie and Clyde-esque movie and something with a lot of Western influences. Dan walked in twenty minutes before the end, by which time the film really did look like a Western. I had to point out it really didn't give a good indication of what had come before, or the type of movie this really was.
None of this is to say that Down in the Valley is bad. Yes, it's different, and yes, it's odd - but it's also refreshing, taking a lot of different genres and mixing them together in a way I really enjoyed. It also has a great performance from Edward Norton, and a satisfying ending - if a rather bizarre one.
Rating: 4 out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment