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Scott Ventura >> Movie Commentary >> December 1999 >> 2 Days in the Valley

2 Days in the Valley

Movie Commentary by Scott Ventura

Details

Scott's Rating:
2 / 5
Times Seen:
1
Viewing Date:
December 1999
IMDB Name:
2 Days in the Valley (1996)
Director:
John Herzfeld
Keywords:
crime, drama
Made:
1996
MPAA Rating:
R for violence, sexuality, and language.

Ensembles

The 1990's have had many movies with large casts of disparate characters tied together in strange ways. Robert Altman's Short Cuts, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and Doug Liman's Go spring to mind. I can now add John Herzfeld's 2 Days in the Valley to the list, but I have to place it squarely at the bottom. 2 Days lacks the intelligence of Short Cuts, the crackle of Pulp Fiction, and the exuberance of Go. The plot ties its characters together in interesting ways, reminiscent of "Seinfeld", but the overall effect is somewhat disappointing.

Perhaps the problem lies in the ensemble cast which never quite clicks. The movie has ten characters of roughly equal importance, and tries to give each some semblance of backstory. That would be fine for a longer movie, but the 104-minute runtime doesn't leave room for the kind of character development that would make the movie more engrossing. The moments where we do get a stronger sense of the characters are often dampened by hurried delivery.

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Copyright 1999-2001 by Scott Ventura. All rights reserved.