Delayed Reaction: In A Valley of Violence

Premise: A Western about a mysterious stranger who comes into town and gets revenge after some men there commit an act of violence against him.

 

Have you ever thought to yourself "I'd really like to watch a Sergio Leone movie, but who has the time?" Well, you're in luck. In A Valley of Violence gives the same basic thrills and performances in half the time. Or, have you ever thought "I like John Wick, but I wish it was a Western?" Guess what? You're also in luck. In a Valley of Violence has the same kind of revenge story but set in a Wild West town.

 

I don't know if director Ti West is a great writer/director for original ideas. I did like his "Second Honeymoon" segment in V/H/S, so maybe he is. I do know he's great at making homages or movies that feel familiar in some way. The House of the Devil perfectly captures the charm of an 80s horror movie. The Sacrament and The Innkeepers are technically original ideas, but they both feel familiar when I watched them. Appropriately, I don't think I can point to anything truly unique about In a Valley of Violence, but it sure is an enjoyable Western. I've seen words like homage and pastiche thrown around for this, and those are correct.

 

Coming in with the understanding that anyone watching this likes Westerns, there isn't much to dislike about this movie. The cast is strong. I don't think there's an actor alive who's having more fun aging out of his boyish good looks than Ethan Hawke. He loves being old enough to have a dark past and wears it well. I've seen Taissa Farmiga in a lot of movies at this point, but this is the first time she really popped for me. She plays a nice ball of energy: a young woman desperate to be taken more seriously. That role works for her. James Ransone is appropriately repugnant. I feel a little bad for him as an actor, because he's so well-suited for squirrelly villains that's it's hard to see him as much else. I hope he's a nice guy with a family who loves him in real life. John Travolta isn't great, but if there is a role in this movie for a hammy former A-lister, his Marshal role is it. I'm not sure where I land on Karen Gillan. Her American accent just isn't great. She masks it some by turning it into a hyper-old West accent, but she's always one flubbed syllable from breaking into a full cockney accent. It's a shame they couldn't concoct a way to let her use a more natural accent, because I'm otherwise a fan of when Gillan trashes things up like this.

 

Like Ti West's other films, this has a nice mix of genre homage, offbeat humor, and bursts of violence. Except for the fact that I don't condone movies using an act of violence against a dog as an inciting event, I quite enjoyed this movie and its simple storytelling.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend