Verdict
Summary
One of the sleeper gems of the mid-’90s, 2 Days in the Valley might be thrown into the conversation when films “inspired by Pulp Fiction” are discussed, but it deserves its own conversation. Writer / director John Herzfeld weaves such a fun plot and creates really vivid characters thanks to his perfect casting that the movie takes on a life of its own. The special features on the disc include a fantastic conversation between Herzfeld and Sylvester Stallone that is worth the price of the package.
Plot:
Densities converge in the San Fernando Valley over the course of 48 hours.
Review:
Two hitmen – one slick (James Spader), the other a washout (Danny Aiello) – perform a hit, and the there’s a double cross, but the washout survives. The murdered man’s wife (Teri Hatcher) was in on it, and the slick hitman’s moll (Charlize Theron in her first role) comes to her for payment, which gets complicated, since the money is at her house, the murder scene where some cops are still investigating. The washout hitman ends up at a posh home of an art dealer, whose assistant (Glenne Headly) takes a shine to the sloppy hitman, but things get even more messy when the art dealer’s sister (Marsha Mason) shows up unannounced with a suicidal filmmaker (Paul Mazursky) who’s got a gun hidden in his pocket. Meanwhile, two vice cops (Jeff Daniels and Eric Stoltz) happen to be in the neighborhood, and destinies converge when all the characters intersect at the same place and time.
One of the sleeper gems of the mid-’90s, 2 Days in the Valley might be thrown into the conversation when films “inspired by Pulp Fiction” are discussed, but it deserves its own conversation. Writer / director John Herzfeld weaves such a fun plot and creates really vivid characters thanks to his perfect casting that the movie takes on a life of its own. The film moves very quickly and has some really fantastic moments (my favorite stuff is with Aiello, who is freaking hilarious in this), and while it has a little bit of convolution going on, I don’t mind at all. Theron makes a great impression in her sexy debut, and everyone else in the cast is so good with this material. I saw this theatrically when it first came out, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of 2 Days in the Valley has a brand new HD master from a 4K scan of the negative, and the special features are fantastic on this one. Hezfeld does a commentary, but there’s a really amazing on camera interview with Herzfeld and Sylvester Stallone, where they talk about their long friendship, and Herzfeld’s filmmaking, and this entire conversation (which runs at least 30 minutes) is eye-opening and informative and laid back, just a conversation between two good friends. There’s also a Q&A from a past screening at the Cinefamily with Theron, Herzfeld, and more. There’s also an archival making-of feature, plus B-rolls and sound bites.
