Review of Down in the Valley (1984) by Your Leader — 10 Jun 2007

"I've tried living down in the valley again, really tried this time."".

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A western, that's not really a western.

Down in the valley is a solid movie with some great performances. Ed norton leads up cast as Harlan. And he's one creepy dude.

The whole movie is essentially told as an old school western. The young tearway kid living with 'the sherif' when a wandering cowboy enters her life after she meets him in a stable (garage. cars are the new horse don't cha know) they fall in love and the cowboy will do anything he can to resuce her and show her the ol' west.....however for the most part this is going on in Harlans head and what this movie actually is, is something very menacing.

Ed's fantasies of being a cowboy makes him a serious threat to this family. A real exploration into his characters delusions .

The movie as a whole is a good watch. It jumps from quite a modern approach with it's visuals to a fairly converntional set up. The opening 30 minutes or so feels like a mix between some of the more memorable 70's flicks and lost in translation but it soon fades away and it all just becomes a bit 'normal'.

It's well worth a look and any Norton fan will dig his take his characters delusions.

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"Walked up and down it looking for one open face, but most people I've meet hardly seem like human beings to me anymore. ".