2 Days in the Valley (1996)

Dir: John Herzfeld
Writer: John Herzfeld
Starring: James Spader, Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, Eric Stoltz, Teri Hatcher, Charlize Theron

This movie isn't quite remembered by many people. It's odd, given that it's a decent movie, but perhaps it's because it was trying to be as slick as Tarantino after Pulp Fiction. Not very many movies come close to that one. It's got some comedy simmering there beneath the crime thriller it's masquerading as.

The many characters in the film are all caught up in a web of intrigue starting with two hitmen (Spader and Aiello) whose interests diverge, so to speak, after the first scene. The movie then follows the cool (to the point of frigid) and stylish Spader to his waiting-in-the-wings girlfriend played by Charlize Theron in one of her first roles. Aiello ends up in a less-controlled situation and his bumbling character Dasmo falls into some bad luck but also the funniest parts of the movie.

And then there's Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels, vice cops who stumble on the hitmen's work. Daniels is so ferociously angry, it's strange after seeing him in something like Dumb and Dumber. He does it well, though. Stoltz seems to have been playing the same role for years, but his perceptive cop gets him into trouble, too.

The ride is enjoyable, but this writer/director did nothing quite as good as this. This type of movie was, in my opinion, later perfected with Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight, and to an extent, Ocean's Eleven. 2 Days in the Valley goes just a bit more grittier in the California heat, but Soderbergh was able to slick it up. In the end, the movie plays well, but I can't help but compare it to all the better movies that came before and after.

Best: I have to give it to Danny Aiello and his scenes with Glenne Headly. He's a lovable gangster and defends Headly's assistant character from her mean-spirited boss. Plus, he's the best comic relief in the movie.

Fact: This was Charlize Theron's first credited role in a film; previously she had an uncredited role as Young Woman in Children of the Corn III. Later in 1996 she appeared in That Thing You Do! and the following year in The Devil's Advocate.

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)