Down in the Valley

How much are you willing to be led through this valley? If you're not in the right mood, you will suffer more and more as the story reaches its climax and you will curse the script that has led you from inconspicuous and slightly melancholic romance. But if you enjoy letting creators change your mood from minute to minute, you will gladly get on the horse with a stranger. Personally, I would gladly let myself be manipulated like this, but the change in storytelling style is too drastic because of the surprising twist in the last third, and there will be no trace left of the original moods. (02.12.2007)

I would divide the film into three parts. In the first third, it appears as an original romance from the waters of American independent film with charming poetics, good chemistry between the characters, and originality far from the template of American romantic comedies. In the second third, dark tones appear in the film and it subtly slides into a psychological drama about an eccentric individual who creates his own world and hierarchy of values, living in a different century and bringing problems to his surroundings, and potentially even destruction. It is still good, exceptional even, especially when we realize that one of the best actors, Edward Norton, is involved in it and his opponent is the excellent character actor David Morse. But then comes the final third, which turns into a standard crime thriller about a deranged psychopath, of which American studios churn out dozens. At that moment, it becomes clichéd and predictable, and the whole thing becomes foolish. Moreover, it reliably sinks the previously higher-quality part of the film. I would give 4 stars for the first part of the film, but the rest drags the film down to a hopeless average. Overall impression: 55%. (06.07.2012)