| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2008

Jacobson examines the life and death of the western and its incompatibility with the youth of today ... a fascinating, yet slightly off-balance, mix of tribute and scrutiny.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2007

The values of past and present collide in this beautifully shot, finely acted reexamination of the American Dream.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 13, 2007

A tale which, apart from its basic conceptual kinship to classic western films, is wholly original and deeply prescient about the darker shoals of human nature.

| Mar 1, 2007

Nerve-less.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Feb 21, 2007

When the story disintegrates into the gunfight at the 'I'm-not-okay-corral', it totally loses anything it had going for it.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 21, 2007

A cautionary tale about the dangers of casual sex, or even casual friendships with strangers.

| Original Score: B | Jan 19, 2007

Both actors work hard to give this disturbing crime story some flavor and substance, but the narrative is overextended and poorly organized.

| Dec 18, 2006

The more you know about it the less likable it becomes.

| Original Score: C | Dec 6, 2006

The movie does not waste the performances, but the screenplay could have served them better.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 25, 2006

Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood turn in strong lead performances, but their talent alone isn't enough to set David Jacobson's sun-bleached, modern-day Western on fire.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 31, 2006

A ludicrous, would-be Western hybrid.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 14, 2006

It spins out of control despite the best efforts of Norton.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 13, 2006

...if you don't require moral instruction with your popcorn, it's probably as close as you're going to get to a John Ford Western this year.

Full Review | Original Score: 91/100 | Jul 7, 2006

The unpredictable, jarring "Down in the Valley" is another worthy addition to Norton's résumé.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 6, 2006

... part homage to the Western genre and part eulogy to a disappearing American West, and the intentions of which are as cryptic and enigmatic as the look on Norton's face.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 1, 2006

Norton earns sympathy, but even he can't sell some of Harlan's poetry-of-the-people eloquence, as when the cowboy comments: 'Most days I just want to step outside my own heart and go walk under a sky full of stars.'

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 30, 2006

Norton's brilliant performance walks the tightrope effortlessly, playing for our sympathies while arousing our suspicions.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 30, 2006

There's no depth to the story, and as the thrills start to kick in, Down in the Valley becomes a B-movie - less a modern epic Western than a two-reel oater with a cheap cliffhanger.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 24, 2006

Strange but compelling.

| Jun 24, 2006