Field of the Gods

Down in the Valley

I've had a pretty chilled out Saturday - spent the morning writing a draft of my CV and studying Go, then went to the movies in the afternoon. If you don't already know me, I'm a total film nerd, and generally quite snotty about the kind of films I'll deign to watch. I don't go to the movies all that much - it's more expensive to buy a cinema ticket and some popcorn than to buy an average DVD these days, so I'll only go if it's something pretty special. There seems to be a rash of films on at the cinema at the moment that I've just got to see though, so this afternoon it was the new Edward Norton flick Down in the Valley.

To be honest, I'm such a fan of Ed Norton that I'd happily pay good money to see him eating a tin of beans, and his latest film doesn't disappoint. It's an impressive effort by a first time director and, although it has its imperfections as a film, there's something unquantifiable about it that lifts it above its flaws and makes it more than the sum of its parts. Occasionally when I see a film at the cinema, I leave in a strongly elevated state of mind - deeply calm, still, joyful and present, like coming out of a really good meditation. There are only a few films that have had this sort of effect on me, and they're all films that have remained very close to my heart: Mulholland Drive, Natalie, Code 46 and Before Sunrise. I had the same kind of experience of sublimity today when I came out of Down in the Valley, which was quite unexpected. I felt that the beginning of the film was outstanding and that it got a bit weaker towards the middle and the end, but it had obviously affected me deeply nevertheless.

I've already got my tickets for Thank you for Smoking and Babette's Feast, both of which I'm going to see tomorrow, and I'll probably see Down in the Valley again on Monday or Tuesday and let it sink in a bit more.

posted by David @ 12:23 PM