Down in the Valley (2005) Online

I had the opportunity to see this film at Cannes and then again at it's 'real' debut at the LA Film Festival. What a difference! Apparently the filmmakers were anxious to get to Cannes and had not finished the editing. Although I liked it before-- this version really hits the spot without the confusing extras that were still at Cannes. I'm glad I gave it a second chance and in fact I'm now anxious to see it again when it's released. The film is very layered and subtle. It is beautifully shot and the four main characters are original and yet painfully familiar in their alienation, anger, and despair. The Cowboy character played by Edward Norton seems so simple at first but as he is drawn into the family his character and the truth of his 'being' gradually unravels in ways that left me speechless at the end of the film. The character played by Rory Culkin, "Twig", says very little throughout the film and yet he conveys a sense of yearning and loneliness almost too painful to bare. But even he undergoes an unexpected transformation by the end of the film. My favorite though, was Evan Rachel Wood. I think she steals the show... without trying at all. Her emotions and rebelliousness are raw and totally authentic. She is a luminous creature on the screen. Her relationship with the Cowboy seemed unlikely at first and then became completely believable, especially in the bathtub scene. My main criticism is that the film is demanding. If you're not in the mood to sink into a fairly deep experience with some shocking moments and unpredictable outcomes--don't waste your time. This is a film for lovers of independent film and psychological kinds of cinema. There are also several scenes that border on surrealism. I'd be interested to know more about the making of this film and look forward to the DVD. I imagine this film may take awhile to be discovered but it holds tremendous rewards for those patient and thoughtful enough to venture into it.

I'm not quite sure exactly how I felt about Down in the Valley. At many times I thought it was a gorgeous film, shot perfectly, but at others I felt uncomfortable and shocked. We are given a love story between a troubled young man and a high school girl trapped in a family that could self-destruct at any moment. These two have been on a journey to find themselves, and in each other's kindred spirits finds another to help steer them onto the right course. However, a relationship like this cannot last. Whether or not you throw in the hot-tempered father, the shy brother lacking in gumption, or the voice inside our lead's head, the tale is one ripe for tragedy. I guess that means it all hinges on the story that gets you from the beginning to the end and whether it is one that was worth the journey. Despite the numerous moments that seemed out of place, and those that stirred discomfort, I will have to conclude that the path is ultimately one I'm glad I took. The great moments were a sight to behold and the tough ones did their job because I still can't shake them.

If nothing else, the acting is top-notch. Evan Rachel Wood is truly amazing for a girl her age. From the little girl in Digging to China, to the rebellious teen in Thirteen, I can't believe how poised she is in all she does. Whereas someone like Anna Paquin fell off the map, as she got older, I think Wood will be around for quite awhile, and I can't wait for Across the Universe later this year. In this film, she encompasses the role of a young woman trying to break free from her stifling yet loose family life into a relationship that is too much for someone of her maturity to completely understand. When she slowly realizes what she is a part of, it is too late, and her mixture of fear with the love she still holds is heartbreaking. David Morse also brings a brilliant performance to the table. A long time character actor, he plays the formidable, sheriff type well, yet has the emotional range to portray the compassion he has underneath the rough exterior. His role is a man that is doing his best, but only when tragedy strikes does he realize how much love he has to give. Rory Culkin rounds out the supporting cast showing nice restraint in a confused young boy unable to differentiate good from bad as the good does what seems bad in order to protect and the bad puts on the façade of good to win him over.

In the end, the real force of the movie is Edward Norton. It's good to see that after his little hiatus from acting, he has come back better than ever. His character Harlan is a complex man with a past that has made him regress into the age of chivalrous western ranches. You can see it in his eyes that the world wronged him in some way and he needed to become a part of a moment in time where people mattered and not material objects. When he ends up in an old west film set and watches the extras dancing and enjoying life in its bear form, the ecstatic look on his face shows it all. Harlan doesn't know who he is and the love of this very young girl puts him into a world that threatens the façade he has worked hard to build. The drugs and the selfishness and the pain wreak havoc on his mind and he begins to let his past anger rise back to the surface. Every moment as he continues on his journey is true to him; when he changes reality to suit his survival, he believes every word he is saying. Something is broken in him, and no one could have portrayed it better than Norton.

I do think, though, that the acting is too good for the film. Morse and Norton are so effective in showing the dual nature of their characters that you end up feeling cheated never finding out what happened in their lives to get them to the points they are at when we are introduced to them. The script never allows us to see any of the characters' motivations, only the slice of life we are shown on screen. Is Harlan the son of a Rabbi? just a troubled youth with a criminal record? both? and if so what happened to make him try and forget it all? These are questions that the movie makes you ask, but never gives any answers to. To have a beautifully shot scene of Norton and Wood out in the country with a wonderful transition sequence involving a swing-set and then at the end progress to an outlaw gunfight chase is all at once jarring and effective, and yet insufficiently explained. These characters are so complex, I just wish the film did more to help us understand them all rather than just show us what happens when their cultures clash in the game of love. Definitely worth a look, but ultimately an underachieving film that had the makings for greatness.

Don't miss this elusive, allusive film if it hits a screen near you. See it before it becomes a cult movie. Profoundly American, it resonates with the contradictions of a culture whose real roots have been severed and is therefore struggling to live out its own mythology as a substitute. Desperately seeking sustenance and solace in a false memory of its real past.

There are echoes of Badlands in this story of an archetypal American drifter. Having no roots, personal, social or occupational, he tries to live by the simple, direct values of the mythical west whose fantasised reality he creates for himself. Harlan has cowboy skills that won't get him a job; and uncompromising personal and social attitudes of independence and individual freedom. If these were ever real in the wide-open spaces of the pioneering west, they have no place or space to be, in the claustrophobic urban, cheek-by-jowl industrial ugliness of contemporary America.

Ed Norton is one of the few actors around today who could sustain such a movie. And though all the supporting performances are excellent, Norton's powerful screen persona carries the weight of the film's strong atmosphere and tone. Norton's Harlan exudes danger. A sinister unpredictability of the superficially and misleadingly normal.

Evan Rachel Woods' rebellious teenager Tobe (short for 'October') impulsively invites gas station attendant Harlan to join her and her friends going to the beach. Just as impulsively, 30-something Harlan throws up his job and goes. Almost surprised by Tobe's overt sexual precociousness, Harlan's fantasised simple Texan cowboy self enters into a naïve, even tender romantic relationship with the half child, half woman, but fully sexual Tobe. In the process he befriends her introspective, almost autistic 13 year-old brother Lonnie (a first-class Rory Caulkin). None of this sits well with Tobe's father Wade, stepfather to Lonnie. Wade is a gun-collecting Vietnam war veteran turned prison warder whose short temper and aggressive but dangerously controlled and controlling personality, is both suspicious of and threatened by, Harlan's apparent openness, honesty and genuine feeling for both Tobe and Lonnie. His respectful attitude cuts no ice with the deeply suspicious Wade.

Jacobson's direction maintains a sense of distance from his characters by seldom going in close; concentrating largely on mid and two-shots. Exteriors stay long and convey a sense of expansiveness and scale reminiscent of traditional westerns, also used so effectively by Ang Lee in Brokeback Mountain. Elegant and simple editing creates an almost lyrical tone to Harlan and Tobe's burgeoning romance, which looks convincing yet carries an undertow of imminent menace. A superb and evocative soundtrack composed and largely performed by Peter Sallet, both musically and lyrically, reinforces this plaintive, elegiac tone. The apparent lightness of the unlikely romance is set against a brooding backdrop with more than a hint of an imminent storm. This is superb film-making, its various elements subtly blended together into a satisfying and affecting whole. Underpinned by Jacobson's own lean, expressive screenplay. In conception and execution this is very much Jacobson and Norton's (co-producer) film. Very personal.

A showdown with Wade sends Harlon off to re-visit his actual or fantasy past. We are left unsure. We become witness to the extent of his fantasised existence and this, with the sense of foreboding intimated earlier, turns the tone of the film darker and more disturbing. Throughout, recurring images echo the western fantasy Harlon lives out: escaping with both Tobe and Lonnie riding through the urban landscape, up to the hills; teaching Lonnie how to shoot; and playing out fantasy western scenes in his apartment. Shades of Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) here. A Shane with attitude. Harlan is highly skilled in the use of western-style handguns, quick-drawing and fast-shooting. It is no coincidence that guns convey a totemic power throughout the film both in Wade's love of collecting them and Harlan's passion for the skill in handling them. A gun figures in the critical dramatic event in the movie. This pivotal moment poses the thought that these essential tools of the pioneer opening up a vast and hostile country, become corrosive and subversive to the necessarily different basis of personal and social relationships in the densely populated urban setting of modern America. Right idea - wrong time.

The denouement of the film further blurs the line between fantasy and reality. Between old cherished verities and contemporary uncertainties. Again recalling Brokeback Mountain. Our feelings about Harlan, just like Lonnie who helps him against his stepfather, are deeply ambivalent. Like Tobe and Lonnie we have no frame of reference within which to judge Harlan appropriately. And to choose what Wade represents is unthinkable. As the brother and sister say their farewells to Harlan we are left with an impression not so much of an oddball with a deluded fantasy, as a man with a keen sense of a once genuine reality somehow misplaced in a time and place no longer capable of understanding or sustaining it.

A beautifully made, multi-layered film that engages and absorbs on a simple narrative level but which resonates with thoughtful and challenging ideas about today's America and its sense of cultural identity in relation to its past - real and imagined. A rare treat. See it.

The film's first 45 minutes to an hour are slow, but not without purpose. It sets the stage, allowing Norton to do what he's done well throughout his career; he outlines, builds, defines, and justifies his character's actions, thereby resulting in another intense yet effortless and simply riveting performance. Norton, IMHO, is likely to be doing this same thing three decades from now. He may well be the American Michael Caine, moving between leading man and scene stealing supporting actor in film after film and at a performance level that rarely dips below "spot on."

Evan Rachel Wood, while hardly stretching beyond her petulant, teen rebel persona, does a very credible job, as does Rory Culkin as Wood's younger brother. David Morse, as brooding, explosive, and understated as ever, is solid in his role as Wood's somewhat predictable, but no less authentic father.

This is a clever, crafted, and satisfying film that delivers. Again, it takes a while to get started, but it proves its mettle.

Just caught "Down in the Valley" by David Jacobson (who also wrote) at the cinema and was completely knocked out. An achingly beautiful & melancholy film, tender as an open wound and with a Edward Norton in, I think, his finest role (he also produced, with the help of the Sundance Foundation) as he veers towards the void, like an innocent Travis Bickle. He plays a delusional drifter who thinks he's a cowboy in the modern day San Fernando Valley, who falls for the beautiful young daughter (great performance Evan Rachel Wood) of David Morse (always consistent). Great script with some wonderful lines + a nice cameo role from Bruce Dern...this film left some indelible mark - one of the best I've seen in some time. Highly recommended. Oh, fantastic music, also....

It takes a certain mindset to appreciate DOWN IN THE VALLEY, a quiet little movie about little people who want something more than what their environs offer. The film is long (just over two hours), could use some editing, allows a rather pedestrian musical score to cover the dialogue far too frequently, and for much of the film the camera exposure makes everything so sun drenched (even for the San Fernando Valley where the story takes place!) that it feels bleached. But those aspects feel secondary in the presence of some very fine performances by an excellent cast directed with vision by writer/director David Jacobson.

Life is exceedingly boring in the bland town where Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) and her little brother Lonny (Rory Culkin) live with their sheriff father Wayne (David Morse) - we never know why there is no mother around though Wayne brings in sleepover subs at random. Tobe has girlfriends with whom she cruises guys and on one afternoon's trip to the beach she meets gas station attendant Harlan (Edward Norton), a drifter who claims to be a rancher form South Dakota and has all the genteel manners of a gentleman raised to respect women. Harlan lives in a trashy motel, plays and dresses as a cowboy, and has an innocence about him that makes us want to believe he is not the borderline personality he is. Tobe picks Harlan up, they begin seeing each other despite Wayne's better judgment, and Tobe and Harlan include Lonny in their pursuit of a world that borders on make believe Western drama. Wayne objects more strongly, discovers Harlan is tempting Tobe away from her home, and confronts Harlan until Harlan finally decides the only way to move forward is to rescue Tobe and Lonny from their bad homelife. Harlan's dark side emerges and his cowboy play becomes real, gunshots are fired and the ending of the film is a mélange of old Western movie make-believe and contemporary tragedy of a young man out of joint with his world.

Edward Norton gives a stunning portrayal of an out of touch drifter: we never know his background except for suggestions that his childhood was spent in detention homes, foster homes, and other dysfunctional modes of getting by. Evan Rachel Wood is radiantly beautiful as the needy teenager who ultimately cannot cope with her desires to leave the home nest. Rory Culkin has few lines but his presence is palpably worrisome. Bruce Dern is on board as a crusty old contemporary 'cowboy' and David Morse again turns in a performance that is three dimensional and credible (it would have been helpful to know why he is a single parent). The film is not without its flaws (as mentioned above plus more), but it manages to give Edward Norton yet another chance to demonstrate his considerable skills as an actor who can make the most peripheral characters stick in our hearts. This is a fine little movie, much underrated. Grady Harp

I thought this movie was fantastic!! I couldn't predict what would happen, and it was like watching a great book where you can't wait to turn the page, without having to get my fingers out of the popcorn. But really I forgot all about the popcorn. The acting was great, the music was captivating and really heightened the emotions. I felt so much for Evan Rachel Wood's character and Rory Culkin. But I also reeaally enjoyed Edward Norton's performance. I'd never heard of this director before, but I really liked how this film moved along and it looked great. And, since I live in Los Angeles, it was fun to see such familiar locations. I really recommend this film for people who like substance, not just action. It's not one for the kids obviously, but if you liked any of the Cohen Brothers movies, or Fight Club, or Garden State, you'll most likely enjoy Down In The Valley. I did!!

Chances are, you'll end up seeing it anyway. Norton chooses his projects carefully, and they stick around, years later, in DVD. The reason is that they always shake you, if your mind doesn't back out and close itself off to the unexpected. In this case, he's magnetic all the way through, and the storyline is riveting, and fascinatingly audacious. To avoid any spoiler, i'll leave it at that... but you must see it. Evan Rachel Woods is perfect, and the relationship between them two is an ideal chemistry. I can't think of a moment where I stopped caring for the characters and wondering who was right or wrong... It would be a shame if people traded that experience for the comfort of watching M:I 3, and the movie got ignored during its theatrical release. It's a rare, full bodied experience that should be explored.

Down in the Valley Wow Edward Norton rocks the screen again playing a cowboy with a very layered and subtle performance. It is beautifully shot and the four main characters are original and yet painfully familiar in their alienation, anger, and despair. The character played by Rory Culkin, "Twig", says very little throughout the film and yet he conveys a sense of yearning and loneliness almost too painful to bare. But even he undergoes an unexpected transformation by the end of the film. The lead is a beautiful creature on the screen. Her relationship with the Cowboy seemed unlikely at first and then became completely believable, especially in the bathtub scene. If you love independent you really will enjoy the artistic quality of this film. There are also several scenes that border on surrealism. This film will leave you thinking and wondering about your life, isn't that what we always would hope for after leaving the movies. My vote is 8 out of 10.

For those favoring character-driven films, this is a must-see. The performances are all top-notch: Norton is excellent as always, and Wood's character Tobe is perhaps the best realization of a teen ever committed to film. Also, Rory Culkin is a revelation--his lost moppet is the sympathetic center of the film, and he imbues it with genuine soul.

Much of the film's success is owed to the director, David Jacobson. Judging from this film, he is a more poetic version of a 1970s Scorsese. That may sound like hyperbole, but his take on the human condition and its longing for connection is graceful, daring, and incisive.

Edward Norton's troubled character is really strong, reminding somehow Taxi Driver's De Niro - though not so immense. The story is well-told and generates suspense and melancholy, plus David Morse is in my opinion a very talented actor and Rachel Wood's performance is nothing bad. That's why I reckon this revisionist Western is cryptic and enigmatic at the same time, powerful would say. On the other hand the lead actor is one of the best nowadays and this time, playing the role of a potential psychopath turning into a real psychopath, manages to be extremely believable. The Los Angeles setting as well is very appropriate.

Down in The Valley What a great film...very layered and subtle. It is beautifully shot and the four main characters are original and yet painfully familiar in their alienation, anger, and despair. The Cowboy character played by Edward Norton (who is amazing) seems so simple at first but as he is drawn into the family his character and the truth unravels in ways that left me at a stand still near the end of the film. The character played by Rory Culkin, "Twig", says very little throughout the film and yet he conveys a sense of yearning and loneliness almost too painful to bare. But even he undergoes an unexpected transformation by the end of the film. The lead is a beautiful creature on the screen. Her relationship with the Cowboy seemed unlikely at first and then became completely believable, especially in the bathtub scene. This is a film for lovers of independent film and psychological kinds of cinema. There are also several scenes that border on surrealism. This film will leave you thinking and wondering about your life. My vote is 8 out of 10.

A slow moving, entirely predictable drama about a would-be cowboy (Edward Norton) and a teenage girl who picks him up at a gas station on her way to the beach, leading to an affair and ultimately to violence. From the first half-hour it was clear where this story was going, and the only question remaining was who would get shot on the way there. Edward Norton's surprisingly one-note performance, the same old father-daughter conflict, and the loving close-ups of guns in the protagonist's hands makes it obvious who's going to do the shooting as the film progresses. As Norton's character becomes increasingly unhinged, he spends more time in his cowboy fantasy, No one seems to notice until he starts shooting, probably because his character appears to stay the same . The high point is a great performance by Bruce Dern as a grumpy horse owner. The supporting cast is adequate to the job, but the lack of surprises in the script, and the flatness of the direction make this a very minor addition to the resumes of the people involved.

Edward Norton plays a disturbed young man who apparently saw way too many westerns as a kid and starts thinking of himself as a cowboy. He dresses the part, creates a whole new identity for himself from South Dakota and one day invades the lives of a family with some horrifying results.

Bored California Valley Girl Evan Rachel Ward picks him up while on the way to the beach with friends and its an instant attachment. Father David Morse doesn't like Norton from the gitgo, but Norton even makes a convert of Ward's younger brother Rory Culkin.

It's a strange film, but with some fascinating performances by the cast members, especially Norton. He's really so bought into his own self mythology that he almost convinces the audience he's genuine. In fact his special place is a former western studio set where towards the climax of the film, he finds them shooting a remake of My Darling Clementine as he wakes up. Of course in the middle of all this, real law enforcement finds him, setting up the climax.

It's an interesting film, but I wonder did they ever finish that remake of My Darling Clementine?

I felt this movie started out well. The acting was spot on and I felt for all the characters situation, even though the true family unit was not completely revealed. We never got enough info on the father to truly feel his pain for his whole involvement or the build up for his animosity with Tobe. I mean in one scene you see him admiring her for tensity and in another scene he just about takes her head off. Another problem with the movie was it just unraveled and lost all focus by the end, and I was begging for it to just be over with. Any movie with such a long drawn out , and painful ending should never get an automatic rating of 7 or above just for the acting. We are looking at the over all quality of the movie experience. In the case of this movie the end is so bad I seriously contemplated just walking out of the theater. This movie pulled me in then just spit me out.

Something indicates from the start that Harlan, the intense young cowboy we first meet walking along the Los Angeles highways, is not all what he appears to be. Perhaps there is something in the way he quickly accepts Tobe's invitation to take him to the beach, when she lays eyes on him at the gas station where he is working. Harlan and Tobe will probe they are bad for one another and the impact it will bring to her family.

We realize Tobe and Lonnie, the younger brother, have a peculiar relationship. Lonnie, is a lonely boy who doesn't appear to fit anywhere; Tobe, on the other hand, has a lot of friends. Their police father, Wade, is a caring, but somewhat distant parent. Instead of paying more attention to Tobe and Lonnie, Wade is involved in his own relationship with a woman we don't fully see, but one that he brings home. Wade is not setting the best example either.

Into this mix enters Harlan. He falls in love hard with the beautiful Tobe, who evidently feels attracted and flattered, at the same time. The combination of these two will prove to be fatal. Harlan is a delusional young man who is obviously not dealing with a full deck, as shown during his time alone in his apartment where he studies himself being a real cowboy in the full length mirror.

To make matters worse, Harlan loves to go to nearby farms and "borrow" horses to ride in the suburban lots near the big city. Harlan decides to take Lonnie, the impressionable young man, under his wing. This only could point to problems down the road for the boy who instead of seeing his father as a role model picks Harlan to be his mentor.

David Jacobson, the talented writer/director of "Dahmer" and "Criminal", knows what he wants. With this new film, he shows he is not afraid to tackle subjects that no others dare to. His characters are always in conflict, as it's the case with Harlan. The film is a sad commentary on our society where children of single parents seem to grow without direction, thus being targets for stronger personalities, like Harlan, who will lead them to do things they would not otherwise do if a strong parent would be in charge.

Edward Norton is at his most intense in his clever portrayal of Harlan. This actor never cease to amaze. Mr. Norton has the distinction of not repeating himself as he goes from role to role. The sure hand of Mr. Jacobson guiding the performance shows a winning combination. Evan Rachel Wood, who we had admired in "Thirteen", does some excellent job in creating Tobe. Rory Culkin equally surprises for his take on the insecure Lonnie, a boy who feels flattered when Harlan gives him the confidence he never had. David Morse, one of the best actors around of stage, or screen, puts an appearance as Wade, the father of the two teens that rebel against his authority. Bruce Dern is also seen in a minor role.

"Down in the Valley" could have used a bit of editing, but other than that, Mr. Jacobson's film shows a rich texture from a man that doesn't fail to deliver.

Like many other posters have stated, I wanted to like this film; it seemed to have a lot going for it (great cast, interesting plot, terrific visuals). So I dug in and stayed through to the end, hoping it would at least come to a satisfying conclusion. Well it didn't. For one thing, it was about 30 minutes too long- from the opening scenes when Tobe (Wood) meets Harlan (Norton) you know two things are guaranteed: they are going to fall in love, and something tragic is going to happen. Problem is, the director throws in so much unnecessary filler (trippy scenes at a club, repetitive family squabbles) that the focus of the story gets off track.

At its heart this film is a character study/slice of life piece. Tobe, a teenage girl rebelling from her overbearing, violent but caring father Wade (David Morse) and Harlan, a wannabe cowboy with childhood abandonment issues who lives in a delusional world, hook up at a gas station; she is immediately smitten with his "aw shucks" attitude and his focus on her. Harlan tries to ingratiate himself into her family life, attempting to smooth things over with dad and befriending her younger brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin in another mesmerizing turn), who has no male role model in his life (he is adopted, and neglected, by Wade). You know things are going to turn sour when these twisted lives intertwine, especially when we see that Harlan likes to act out old Westerns in his room, using real six shooters. Throw in the fact that Tobe's dad is a corrections officer, veteran, and avid gun collector, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this crush is going to end badly. But when the tragic events finally do unfold, it's not in the manner I expected, nor hoped; plus the finale drags on to the point where I was praying for it to end already (not a good one to watch after midnight).

This one had so much potential, and there WAS a lot to like about the film: the performances were stellar across the board, the cinematography depicted beautiful images of the new San Fernando Valley where it collides with the Old West, and the ideas were ambitious and commendable. But with some editing and a tighter script, this intriguing little indie could have really been a keeper.

I got to see this while I was over in Cannes, and have to say I have mixed feelings about it. I'm a big fan of Ed Norton, and every single actor held there own, with especially strong performances by David Morse and the lovely Evan Rachel Wood. It starts off with some fantastic cinematography and some moving if not somewhat direction-less scenes and for the first 45 minutes I found myself engrossed in everything about the movie. However after an hour or so the plot takes a sharp change and from here everything falls apart. What should have taken the film up another notch ends up slowing the pace right down until it almost passes out from fatigue. What could have been summed up in about two scenes takes nearly an hour to play out and by this time you couldn't really care less what happens. A great start but the only word I can think off to describe the ending rhymes with rock.

This film really got off to a great start. It had the potential to turn into a really heartrending, romantic love story with cinematography that recorded the love between "Harlan" and Tobe in long, poetic and idyllic scenes. It really didn't need to be anything more than that, and for a moment there I became excited that someone was finally making a beautiful film for its own sake, another timeless classic, a modern myth perhaps. Why, oh why, then mess it up halfway through by making the lead character (Norton)another psycho? Maybe I'm missing the point, but do we really need another film about psychos? Or is this need in Hollywood to portray the sick side of human nature indicative of a more general malaise in the movie industry? For a moment there, I was going to make a mental note of the director's name; now I'm left feeling indifferent. At least it should be added in the film's defense that all the actors seemed to invest in their roles. Also, Evan Rachel Wood is really lovely to look at and a good actress with lots of potential.

Down in the Valley is no easy movie: it doesn't tell you what to think, how to judge and what to get from it, it requires the audience to think, confronts his own dilemmas and leaves you with infinite sadness in the end.

Harlan remains a mystery the whole time, and the girl asking "are you for real" is not wrong when she asks it. At first, Harlan looks like a harmless lunatic, lost in this south California, a little behind times, and almost childish. then, little by little, this facade cracks and we can see that he actually is not just a loony bin, but bat-sh*t crazy. However, it's difficult to have harsh feelings towards Harlan, particularly considering the affection he provides to Lonnie, in who, one can assume, he sees a little reflection of himself.

Wade is also a gray character: he is that kind of father who just can't communicate with his kids. He loves them, he wants to shield them from what he feels (righlty) is a menace to them, but is simply incapable of saying it with the right words and tends to resort to violence too much because he doesn't know how to proceed differently. He is a difficult character to like, due to his treatment of Lonnie in particular, but you can't completely hate him either.

Evan Rachel Wood is splendid as the almost-woman Tobe, her acting is so natural and fluid you don't even question her character one second. She perfectly captures all emotions required to show how Tobe's is drawn into the peculiar guy Harlan is, but also exudes intelligence and maturity when her character slightly realizes Harlan is lost way too far in his fantasies.

Rory is yet an other Culkin, but yet an other talented one, as his brother Kieran is. His portrayal of Lonnie is sincere and moving, despite having little dialog. His admiration for Harlan is both warming and sad, since Harlan, as nice as he is with him, can't provide him any other life than a one full of lies.

Edward Norton once again proves what a wonderful actor he is. This movie might not be the most recognized and famous he has done, but his work here ranks among his best. Of course, we are now used to his ability to play with two sides of a role, but he is just so good as the lost cow-boy, and then scary as hell when he finally loses it.

Though very good, some parts of the movie drag a bit, and some will not find the interest of it, but it's definitely worth a watch., if only for the picture and the acting.

This movie has essentially one major flaw, which in the opinion of this viewer is a fatal flaw.

It is not a flaw concerning plot holes or anything of that ilk, in fact it is a much more serious flaw than a simple 'goof.' The problem lies with the fact that the viewer does not care for any of the characters. There is no-one he can empathise with, no-one he can say he is on the side of. They are all just simply annoying.

The voice over which we hear on occasions is more annoying than anything else.

Norton and Morse do there best with the material, and both show they have some acting skills, but do we actually care about either character? We don't and so we watch the movie come to what is a fairly inevitable conclusion without much though for them at all.

This one is pretty bad.

I really like Ed Norton, and I was interested to see if he could pull off the cowboy role. He really did. He didn't need any latitude from the truth behind his character, he would have fit in with Clint Eastwood in the 1970s. Ms. Wood is luminous - she's pretty much the focus of the cinematography, and for good reason. The romance between the two leads is sweet and powerful. David Morse is really, really good as the step dad.

There are some production glitches - Norton's facial hair changes from full goatee to clean shaven to stubble and back overnight. There's a low-budget feel, and I didn't buy the sequence in the middle of a film shoot. It felt contrived.

So, is there room in Southern California for a real, rootin' tootin' cowboy? Of course not. So what do you do about it? I didn't get any real answers. If the point is the delusion, "King of Comedy" presented the deluded in a compelling way. In this one, the delusion isn't enough by itself. If the point is the doomed outlaw romance, "Badlands" really dominates. I thought Malick had more budget to work with, but that's not the case, even inflation adjusted. Malick just had more story to work with.

I give it points for having a theme, but it's not really well done. But the performances are amazing.

I saw this film in my cinema class. I am glad that I did not pay to see it. I came into it with an open mind, and was even a little excited. I really enjoy Ed Norton and Evan Rachel Wood, and the rest of the cast was interesting. I just never connected with this movie. The acting was great, the cinematography was interesting, but the storyline, or rather, lack thereof, was a problem. There was no central, connecting theme to the movie. Was it a romance between Norton and Wood? Well, no, not really. Was it a western? Kind of, but no. I'm all for twists in movies, I recently saw "Brick" and loved it, but the place that this movie went was just too out there. It was so weird, and if I weren't required to have sat through the whole film, I would have walked out. The writing wasn't terrible, but it was just all over the place. By the time this movie ended, I was just left terribly confused and wishing that it had ended sooner. There was just something about this film that didn't resonate, I understand more offbeat films like "Fight Club", but I just did not care about the characters at all.

This is a movie without any redeeming quality, a movie that I should have called Psycho Cowboy. From the start of the movie, there's hardly any future in its ending, and from there on it's downhill all the way. If you are a masochist, I strongly recommend it. As a warning, there's no way to judge the score of IMDb as a quality of the movie. The movie is always judged by political correctness, with hardly any entertainment value at all. If there were any entertaining quality at all this 8 million dollar film made only 500,000 dollars back, so they still lost 7,500,000. I got my video for free, it seems no one wants to watch it. In case you want to know the plot synopsis, it's a teeny bubble gum girl who took the gas station cowboy after being fired to the beach and get laid the same day, and a conflict exists between her father who tries to to separate her boyfriend twice her age because of his doubtful character. Of course the sadism of the cowboy and other psycho things be revealed later on. Psycho movie is interesting, but sorry to say this is not. Watch American Psycho instead.

Independent drama announcing the return of Norton the actor as opposed to Norton the sleepwalking paycheck casher. No sooner is this announced then with the blatant pre-title "Edward Norton in" before announcing any other credits, which I found to be slightly arrogant, nowhere near the hubris of a "Quentin Tarantino presents", but nonetheless an egotistical gesture. To Norton's credit, he does find some of his most heartfelt, subtle, and perceptive work since his compelling material days, through the troubled and mysterious rancher that he plays here. Unfortunately, the "Edward Norton in" aspect does become apparent when all is said and done; clearly this was a repositioning role Norton had staked a lot in (even putting his neck out there to raise hell when the film had trouble getting picked up for distribution) to help give his career a much needed indie boost. Although the performance is uniformly solid, actions described during the latter half of this odd script do tend to take away any serious consideration for the character invested viewers were making up until that point. While things veer from enjoyable, even painfully beautiful and rife with bittersweet sentiment, to uncharacteristically ludicrous with one swift motion, one still never looses sight of the passion Norton and company held out until the ambiguous resolution. It is this moral ambiguity that perhaps defined the film and it's subsequent controversy of not being able to "find a market" with US distributors, but ultimately this grey zone that could have yielded far more fruitful results ends up loosing relevance and potency due to the seemingly lazy transgression of events, tied into an underdeveloped sub-plot.