Valley Girl

I went to watch Down in the Valley, a film by David Jacobson, apparently, his third after Criminal and Dahmer, neither of which I've heard.

The film stars Ed Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse, and Rory Culkin. The remaining characters are extremely minor.

I knew very little of the film going in. I knew that things weren't the way they were supposed to be as set up at the beginning, and that's true. Alas, even this little piece of knowledge had me waiting impatiently to see where the relationship was heading.

Initially, it appears headed to a cliche. Morse plays single dad to willful daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood, who one day meets Ed Norton, a cowboy-ish guy who's working at a gas station, barely making ends meet. She invites him to the beach with her friends, and they hit it off. He seems caring, even as her father has his reservations.

It says something about the writing and David Morse's acting that makes you side with the overly protective father rather than with likeable Ed Norton, but memories of Primal Fear, Norton's breakout performance where he feigns that he's a simpleton to get out of being accused of a murder.

The film reminded me strangely enough of Undertow. In that film, Jamie Bell plays rebellious older son who takes care of his sickly younger brother. However, in that case, the bad guy turns out to be their dad's brother who wants the fortune that is hidden away, creating the central conflict. Most of the rest of the film is concerned with Jamie trying to keep away from the uncle who's looking for the money, and willing to do anything to get it.

Although the storyline was a bit simple, I liked it for its odd Southern atmospherics. Although apparently set in the South, it almost felt out of time, as if this were 1930s South with sharecroppers, combined with some hippie setting.

Norton's Harlan dresses and sounds like a cowboy. His past is mysterious. It appears he's been raised in foster homes, and apparently, at one point in time, by a rabbi, though this isn't clear. He sympathizes with Lonnie, who he nicknames "Twig", perhaps seeing something of this shy kid.

Apparently, he tells lies such as working for a guy named Charlie, or worse, telling Lonnie about who shot his sister. It seems clear that Charlie isn't able to take care of anyone, not even himself, and yet, there's some sympathy for his character.

This film seems destined for a showdown between the father and Harlan, and that's where it twists and turns. The confrontation occurs, but then it's no longer over Tobe (Wood), it's over Lonnie.

I'm not sure whether Harlan's meant to be some kind of allegorical character. The closest the film comes to this is when he's hopped up on Ecstasy telling people jammed in the streets that life wasn't meant to be spent in traffic. Harlan contemplates life that's free from worries, and he's run away a lot, run away from responsibility, but he's human, and he thinks that Tobe might be the woman for him.

Credit Jacobson for not taking an obvious path with the characters, for not making the dad an absolute bad guy, nor Norton an absolute good guy. He maintains balance, showing neither exactly good or bad, both well-meaning, but perhaps not doing what's best for everyone.

The film hints at a possible relationship between Wade (the father) and Harlan, as if maybe Wade was his dad, but again, Jacobson doesn't take that route that might seem to good to be true. Even if this is truly their relationship, neither realize it.

Jacobson throws odd jabs in the film, which are puzzling, but certainly far from orthodox, such as Harlan's relationship with Joe, who appears to be a rabbi. The scene where he steals from the rabbi seems oddly reminiscent of Les Miserables where Jean Valjean steals from a priest of some sort.

I did wonder how old Norton is (he's in his 30s, just a touch younger than me) because it appears he's playing a guy maybe only a few years older than Tobe. He's still young enough that he can play 20, and that's what he appears to be doing. I didn't get the sense that he was trying to play a guy in his 30s.

Norton's shirt is off an awful lot. I have no idea if there's any particular reason for that, other than to show his exercise regiment is working well. The acting is uniformly good, though Rory Culkin appears to be reprising his role for Mean Creek, where he's also a shy kid.

I give the film both a B in likeability and quality.