Down in the Valley is the kind of movie I'd like to like, but I don't. It seems like a good premise: we've got Edward Norton playing a character with a slightly skewed perspective on reality. That kind of mindset spawned Fight Club and American History X, arguably some of Norton's best work. It doesn't work here though. I didn't feel anything for Norton's character Harlan, who thinks he's a cowboy but is really just a thief. He acts aloof, awkward, and, a lot of times, pretty stupid. I couldn't empathize with him, his rebellious teenage love interest, or her hard-nosed cop father. I spent most of the movie wondering why I was still watching it. The story moves really slowly and by the time any actual action starts taking place, I was so uninterested I just wanted the movie to be over.
Basically, a girl named October (Rachel Evan Wood) meets Harlan at a gas station and thinks his strange mannerisms are cute, so she invites him to the beach. Even though she's jailbait, they screw in one of the lamest sex scenes ever. He courts her by taking her out on many wonderful dates. One is a cowboy rave bar where they pop some pills, hug random motorists, and sit in a bathtub for a really long time. Next time he outdoes himself by taking her to steal a horse from a man who isn't named Charlie, but that he insists on addressing as such. Up until this point, the movie held a slight amount of my interest with all of its bizarre situations, but it wasn't really particularly entertaining. When they get arrested for stealing the horse, October's father (David Morse, playing the same character he always plays) forbids her from seeing Harlan again, but Harlan just doesn't know how to take no for an answer. Boredom ensues.
People who like guns will probably appreciate all the different pistols in the movie. Aside from that (which, I'm afraid to say, isn't very much), the movie has very few redeeming qualities. It's a waste of time, talent, and money. I've already looked up the titles of writer/director David Jacobson's other films so I don't accidentally end up watching them. Unless you're looking for a movie to ignore, make fun of, or invent a really elaborate drinking game for, I'd definitely recommend putting something else on your Netflix list.