MovieChat Forums > Down in the Valley (2005) Discussion > You talkin' to me?

You talkin' to me?

posted 11 years ago by katspajamas22
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The scene where Harlan is talking to himself in the mirror is almost a literal recreation of the 'You talkin' to me?' scene from Taxi Driver. The stance, the crazy eyes (he does this looking away thing that De Niro does at the beginning of the scene), the repeatedly drawing a gun on an imaginary person who he's having a verbal altercation with, repeating of the same lines over again. He even uses the words 'screw heads' like De Niro did.

I wonder why this was done. Was the writer paying an unacknowledged homage to Taxi Driver? Was it done on purpose to make it seem like the character was re-enacting the movie scene given his penchant for getting lost in the movie world (even if his chosen genre is Westerns)? Was it a choice by Norton? The writer and director have never said.

The journey was terrible...the trip was alright

[–] Sanchez6 11 years ago

That's a great observation, thanks. Down in the Valley is one of my very favourite movies.

I would say Harlan was re-enacting movie scene, Taxi Driver was made in 1976, so he could have seen it even multiple times. He obviously likes it, it perfectly fits to his cowboy personality.

Also You're Incredibly Hot... oh Lord!