'Down in the Valley': The movie, like the romance, falls apart

Long before Edward Norton's delusional-cowboy-in-California movie "Down in the Valley" completely unravels, which it does with reckless disregard for story, the movie bides its time by being just plain irritating.

ThinkFilm 'Down in the Valley' D+ The verdict: Down and out. Director: David Jacobson Starring: Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse, Rory Culkin, Bruce Dern Run time: 114 minutes Release date: May 5, 2006 Rating: R for violence, sexual content, language and drug use. On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Down in the Valley'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

This is Southern California indie filmmaking at its most overripe, with lingering, moody scenes shot in the San Fernando Valley and a moaning soundtrack.

"Valley" features two-time Oscar nominee Norton as a modern-day wayward cowboy — he either is one or thinks he's one — who kind of sashays into a passionate and deadly dangerous love relationship with a teenage girl played by Evan Rachel Wood ("Thirteen").

At first, the actors are spot on, their characters serving almost as parallel innocents. That Norton's grown-up cowboy appears to be so naive merely underlines the pending danger.

Unfortunately, writer-director David Jacobson's story goes haywire. First, he allows Norton to spend too much time alone in front of a mirror a la Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver." Then the director sends his own story into a kind of bizarre neverland, with his runaway cowboy running headlong into a Western movie set and, ultimately, a kind of shootout in a burgeoning subdivision with two-car garages.

Strange? Yes. Does it work? Uh, no way.