Review of In a Valley of Violence (2016) by Phillip D — 27 Dec 2016

First off, for those still disputing the dawn of the Modern Western film movement, I think the argument on this issue is over. In a Valley of Violence joins Bone Tomahawk, Slow West, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, The Magnificent Seven and The Revenant along with modern western hybrids in the form of Mud, Winter's Bone, Killer Joe, Hell or High Water, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Book of Eli as well as the new HBO flagship show, Westworld, which together form the rapidly expanding Modern Western movement.

All seek, in one way or another, to explore the mythical delusions of the American West and lay bare the painful reality of what our country did there in the name of patriotism and duty. This movement is real, high quality and growing quickly and that is a fantastic thing.

Having acknowledged that this movement isn't a myth, how does Valley of Violence fare? Generally, fairly well. Valley of Violence is, in many ways, the western version of Midnight Special, another nicely done low budget indie from this year.

Minimal budget, intimate, small scope and a bit unhinged at times, the movie aims to explore its themes via dark and absurd humor. These attempts are hit-or-miss and the quality of dialogue fails to really live up to the film's tasks but the character work and some excellent scoring and cinematography really keep the viewer locked in here.

Ethan Hawke is kooky as can be but manages to pull this one off nicely (between this and Magnificent Seven, the guy who I named America's most punchable actor after his awful Linklater performances may want to consider a career shift), alternating between crazy and vengeful really well.

He carries his past perfectly and it's this burden that keeps his character so fascinating and, in a wise move by the director, a complete mystery throughout the film. Travolta is another comeback player here.

He isn't asked to do anything exceptional but he fills the role well and offers some of the dry, dark comedic relief. A real up and comer here is Farmiga. She has really shined in her American Horror Story stints but with show collapsing at the seams, she needs to move into bigger film roles.

Valley of Violence is a good start. At first, I couldn't take her character seriously and was concerned about the direction West was taking things but Farmiga sold me straight up. She goes balls to the wall with the oddness of her character and by the end, she makes a striking portrait.

There isn't much more to Valley of Violence, limited as it is but that works pretty well. The violence and suffering is, as it should be, uncompromisingly awful and the idea of a lifestyle of death and pain that, once partaken in, never fully leaves the user (i.

E. the colonizer) is a fascinating concept. Valley of Violence certainly has an undertone hinting at the continued societal rot began in this time period that continues today in rural America, culminating in something like Donald Trump and I can appreciate that narrative.

In terms of critique, I mostly just hoped that Ti West would actually take his absurdist notions further. Instead the humor and situations are more tempered and realistic then I expected and as such, this limited film has to fight much bigger competition without really carving out its own niche to shoot from.

That being said, it's entertaining, thought provoking, interesting, a little funny and worth the time this film season.