Written and directed by Manuel Navarro, inspired by the horrific Mann family murders of spring 1988, following two friends lost in a haze of heavy metal, reckless parties and drugs. Culminating in one fateful day, where their lives spiral through chaos and compulsion. Starring: Keanu Cordero, Luis De La Torre, Yadira Barreto, Priscilla Galindo, Devyn Grace, Aaron Patrick Hiller, Zaiden Navarro, Isaac Palafox, Keekee Suki and Chip Tamez.
The winding opening shot paired with the great choice of music, and the strongly nostalgic quality and textured grain to the cinematography (by Adonais Navarro) which taps straight into the era, nicely sets the tone for Garden Valley. Capturing that feel of meandering, damaged adolescence, filled with too much freedom and the antithesis of healthy structure. The editing from Kakhi Maxwell Jr. allows the film to lean into those qualities even further, the youthfulness and loss of direction.
That youthful atmosphere is something that’s also well ingrained into Garden Valley by the cast. The ensemble interestingly feel quite reminiscent of casts you’d find in grittier young adult dramas in the 2000s, like Alpha Dog, Thirteen or Brick. Not pushing too hard on the dramatics, staying within an everyday reality, but also establishing something almost melancholic, with that quintessential lost childhood blend of naivety and disillusionment. Shining a spotlight on that group of young people who haven’t been given the tools, or have any support system to turn to, to deal with their emotional issues, instead fuelling them with drugs and alcohol. On top of that, Keanu Cordero’s Leo adds a strong vein of loneliness into the mix.
There’s an interesting ethical conundrum at the foundation of Garden Valley, portraying a cycle of abuse and violence, and questioning how far does sympathy go for a person pushed to the edge by their environment? How much does that impact their responsibility for their actions? Although, that is also perhaps the film’s weakness, not exploring those questions far enough, especially relating to men’s aggressive, stalking and violent behaviour when spurned by a woman. It’s a very poignant, relevant issue, that sadly never seems to become any less prevalent over the years.
With the film coming from the perspective of Leo (Cordero), it somewhat restricts the view and doesn’t provide a lot of space to highlight the importance of recognising those patterns and protecting women. As its focus is on what led him to that point and the harrowing true crime Garden Valley is inspired by, rather than the consequent issues. There is also a use of audio flashbacks to earlier moments which don’t feel necessary, with it being a short film, it’s fresh enough to imply that frustrated reflection without needing to explicitly hand it to the viewers.
However, as a portrayal of true crime, it works well so if you’re going into it with that expectation, there’s plenty to enjoy. Manuel Navarro captures the downward spiral resulting from that powerful cocktail of abuse, negative reinforcement, trauma, drugs and alcohol. Capturing how quickly things can turn and the devastating consequences. The directorial style and particularly how Garden Valley uses transitions embodies that feel of abandoned youth, and the seething and aggression building below the surface when there’s no other outlet to resolve it.
Garden Valley captures how adolescence mired by trauma and abuse, then fuelled by drugs and alcohol can open up a dark path that you can’t return from. The latter shots in particular portray the harrowing consequences and the poignancy of the true story of a horrific crime that the film was inspired by. There’s a thoughtfulness to the direction from Manuel Navarro to open up a view of how shockingly easily that path unfolds. Adonais Navarro’s cinematography and Kakhi Maxwell Jr. really boost the atmosphere and tension. It’s a shame not to create more of a balance between that true crime element and the very relevant themes to today’s world that the film touches upon, but it is also a fairly tall order to fit all of that within half an hour.
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