2 Days in the Valley
Encyclopedia
2 Days in the Valley is a 1996 film, directed by John Herzfeld
. The film revolves around the events over 48 hours in the lives of a group of people who are drawn together by a murder
. Several parallel storylines
overlap one another in the film.
girlfriend Helga.
Dosmo survives, seeking shelter at the house of Allan Hopper, an abrasive art dealer who suffers from kidney stones. He takes Hopper and his much abused assistant, Susan Parish, hostage. He is completely unaware of the fact that Hopper has called his older sister, Audrey, over to the house for medical help. On the way over to her brother's house, Audrey, a nurse, picks up Teddy Peppers, a down and out TV producer contemplating suicide.
Meanwhile, Becky awakens in horror when she discovers Roy's body in bed beside her. She runs from her house and flags down two vice detectives who happen to be driving through. Although he initially feels sympathetic, Wes Taylor begins to feel suspicious, wondering if Becky knows more than she is telling. Later it is revealed that Becky hired Lee and Dosmo to kill Roy for $30,000. Becky, who was unaware that Lee planned to kill Roy in her own house, stashed the payment in her house. The divergent paths of the characters cross, with deadly consequences, after Lee decides to go back to the house to get the money.
maintains 2 Days in the Valley with a 62% "fresh" rating. Teri Hatcher's performance in the film earned her a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress (also for Heaven's Prisoners
).
John Herzfeld
John Herzfeld is an American motion picture and television director, screenwriter, actor and producer. His feature film directing credits include Two of a Kind , 2 Days in the Valley , 15 Minutes and The Death and Life of Bobby Z...
. The film revolves around the events over 48 hours in the lives of a group of people who are drawn together by a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Several parallel storylines
Narrative thread
A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
overlap one another in the film.
Plot
The introductory storyline involves hitmen Lee Woods and Dosmo Pizzo. The two kill Roy Foxx while he lies in bed after they inject Roy's ex-wife, Becky, with a tranquilizer. The day afterward, Woods turns on Pizzo, shooting him and blowing up their car in order to set him up as the fall guy. Woods flees the scene with his NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
girlfriend Helga.
Dosmo survives, seeking shelter at the house of Allan Hopper, an abrasive art dealer who suffers from kidney stones. He takes Hopper and his much abused assistant, Susan Parish, hostage. He is completely unaware of the fact that Hopper has called his older sister, Audrey, over to the house for medical help. On the way over to her brother's house, Audrey, a nurse, picks up Teddy Peppers, a down and out TV producer contemplating suicide.
Meanwhile, Becky awakens in horror when she discovers Roy's body in bed beside her. She runs from her house and flags down two vice detectives who happen to be driving through. Although he initially feels sympathetic, Wes Taylor begins to feel suspicious, wondering if Becky knows more than she is telling. Later it is revealed that Becky hired Lee and Dosmo to kill Roy for $30,000. Becky, who was unaware that Lee planned to kill Roy in her own house, stashed the payment in her house. The divergent paths of the characters cross, with deadly consequences, after Lee decides to go back to the house to get the money.
Cast
- Danny AielloDanny AielloDaniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
as Dosmo Pizzo - Greg CruttwellGreg CruttwellGreg Cruttwell is an English actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He is the son of actress Geraldine McEwan and Hugh Cruttwell, former principal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art....
as Allan Hopper - Jeff DanielsJeff DanielsJeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
as Alvin Strayer - Teri HatcherTeri HatcherTeri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
as Becky Foxx - Glenne HeadlyGlenne HeadlyGlenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...
as Susan Parish - Peter HortonPeter HortonPeter Horton is an American actor and director. He played the role of Prof. Gary Shepherd on the popular television series Thirtysomething until 1991.-Early life:...
as Roy Foxx - Marsha MasonMarsha MasonMarsha Mason is an American actress and television director.She received four Academy Award nominations as Best Actress for her performances in Cinderella Liberty, The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two, and Only When I Laugh. She is also known for starring in the 1986 film Heartbreak Ridge.-Life:Mason was...
as Audrey Hopper - Paul MazurskyPaul MazurskyPaul Mazursky is an American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Personal life:He was born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean , a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a laborer. Mazursky was born to a Jewish family; his grandfather was an immigrant from...
as Teddy Peppers - James SpaderJames SpaderJames Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
as Lee Woods - Eric StoltzEric StoltzEric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
as Wes Taylor - Charlize TheronCharlize TheronCharlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
as Helga Svelgen - Keith CarradineKeith CarradineKeith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
as Detective Creighton - Louise FletcherLouise FletcherLouise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
as Evelyn - Austin PendletonAustin PendletonAustin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
as Ralph Crupi - Kathleen LuongKathleen LuongKathleen Luong is a Vietnamese American actress and model, usually credited as Katie Luong.In 1979 her family left Vietnam by boat to escape Communism, and sailed to Malaysia...
as Midori
Reception
The film was given mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
maintains 2 Days in the Valley with a 62% "fresh" rating. Teri Hatcher's performance in the film earned her a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress (also for Heaven's Prisoners
Heaven's Prisoners
Heaven's Prisoners is a 1996 feature film drama starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson, Teri Hatcher and Eric Roberts. It is based on a Dave Robicheaux novel of the same name by James Lee Burke. The film was directed by Phil Joanou...
).