Review of Down in the Valley (1984) by William M — 01 Sep 2007

This was better than I expected. The acting is great from Norton, Wood, Morse and Culkin as always and the story really had me questioning my beliefs toward insanity and I watched it with my parents and they thought Norton was insane the whole time and were rooting for the caring father played by Morse, but I empathized much more with Norton who had a really troubled life and really never grew out of his childlike fantasy/romantic world.

I don't think he was so much 'insane' as my parents described, but misunderstood, like people like my parents (Morse). I felt Morse's character to be caring about his children but showing no affection whatsoever and being harsh on them.

He was too strict and not nuturing enough as a father. I felt most sympathy for Wood's character. She's trapped between Norton and Morse and really has nowhere to go. Part of me wanted her to run away with her love (Norton) and the other part of me wanted her to stay under her father's protection, but leaning more toward Norton.

Having experienced a father that is a lot like Morse's character (but much more 'harsh', shall I put it) I didn't blame the children for trusting Norton and not their own dad. Many people would not get this film or the actions of the characters because they have not had troubled lives, but if you've had abusive parents or parents that show signs of the ability to abuse/neglect, you know what I'm talking about.

It's not a really well executed film because a lot of people won't understand what is going on and it's not incredibly rememberable, but it is an interesting character study and well acted, so it's worth a watch if you have an open mind.