Writer-director Ti West brings absurdist humor to his new Western, In a Valley of Violence, starring Ethan Hawke and John Travolta.
Hawke plays a mysterious drifter named Paul, who along with his dog make their way towards Mexico through the barren desert of the old west. In an attempt to shorten their journey, they cut through the center of a large valley–a place now dubbed by locals as a “valley of violence.”
The once-popular mining town is nearly abandoned and controlled by a brash group of misfits — chief among them Gilly (James Ransone), the troublemaking son of the town’s Marshal (John Travolta).
As tensions rise between Paul and Gilly, Denton’s remaining residents bear witness to an inevitable act of violence that starts a disastrous chain reaction, affecting the lives of all involved, dragging the whole town into a bloody revenge. Mary-Anne (Taissa Farmiga) and Ellen (Karen Gillan), two bickering sisters who run the town’s hotel, try to find the good in both men, while desperately searching for their own salvation. Only the world-weary Marshal struggles to stop the violent hysteria, but a gruesome discovery about Paul’s past changes all that.
The film’s supporting cast includes Toby Huss, Burn Gorman, and Larry Fessenden.
Running time: 104 Minutes
Written and directed by Ti Wes
