This is a tough one to grade. The first hour and a half are staggering in their brilliance. The films loses it's way during the final act, though, when it stops being a deeply disturbing and haunting character study and degenerates into a series of strange, surreal shoot out scenes. The direction and performances are absolutely sublime throughout, so it's a shame they both had to be letdown by a weak screenplay at the end. Edward Norton proves once again why he is probably this generation's greatest actor, as he is able to make our opinion of his character change on a dime without losing our total sympathy. Evan Rachel Wood is absoluely stunning here, too. I was expecting her to fall into the archetype character she portrayed in Thirteen yet again, but she displays an amazing amount of depth here. She also has somes incredibly brave (and extremely intense) sex scenes with Norton. Perhaps the best (and biggest surprise) performance, though, is given by David Morse, who plays Wood's father. Rory Culkin also shows the talent he dispalyed in Signs was no fluke, as he is great here aswell. This is easily the best ensemble of the year.

The director, David Jacobson, displays a strikingly poetic eye. The film is littered with beautiful images that will haunt you for days. Malick was a very clear and obvious influence, especially his work on Badlands. It's a shame that Jacobson's screenplay is not on par with his films visuals. It continously lets the character's down in the final twenty minutes, and it's the one thing that prevents the film from becoming an out and out masterpiece. I would love to see a different version of this film that remains quite and heartbroken throughout it's run time.

With that said, the climax isn't a complete unmitigated disaster, as it still has surreal visuals (the sequence in the completely dark forest is particularly striking) and smart commentary to bring to the table. Still, it's frustrating to know as a filmgoer that I was so close to a flawless film going experience, only to be letdown in the end.

Down In The Valley rates as an A-.

BTW - The best soundtrack of the year, easily. Peter Salett is a genius. The music compliments the visuals on screen to an extent I don't think I've ever seen. If you're a fan of alt-country/indie rock, check it out.

makeshift is pretty much on the money with his review i'd say. The film kinda lost me at the end, the hour and a half before that was just great though.

Grade - B+

The film had potential but fell apart the longer it went. Edward Norton is a good actor, but he really needs to do something lighter occasionally. Did anyone else notice Norton's constantly changing facial hair? My grade: C+.

This was a good movie that completely fell apart in it's third act. It was really out there, and just got annoying to watch. Before the last half hour, my grade was a 9/10 (A-). Evan Rachel Wood was great as always, and what happened to her character was disappointing since her performance was really so great. Recommended.

7/10 ( B )