In the Valley of Elah (2007)

 Biggest surprise of twothousand and seven.
The year before was a great one. I hope you don't mind where awards go and don't really follow trends and those paths that are most taken that I will name 'Public Paths', because here is one that isn't so well publicized. It's a great film that belongs in the same category as the best of last year. Everyone makes up their own little lists so that they can compare them with strangers and friends. I make no attempts to be some sort of high critic, who seems too proud of his choices. Bear with my small observances as what I humbly think to be of some outstanding choice from last year. It has a sadening, driving force within it that is uncommon. The mystery is like a steel stake, and Tommy Lee Jones is the powerful workman who pounds it down to its clairvoyant climax. Tommy Lee Jones has the innate drama within him. He has that strong face with determined lines of age that makes me believe and follow him without any inner struggle from me, which comes to actors that aren't casted properly. Nothing short of the performance of a lifetime. May 10, 2008

 In the Valley of Elah
Tommy Lee Jones gives a very powerful performance. In the Valley of Elah is the Iraq War's version of the Vietnam War's The Deer Hunter. Also, the movie highlights the cover up and bureaucratic issues afflicting the U.S. Army. Seems that the more things change, the more they seem to remain the same. Recommend viewing this movie, but not while the viewer is in a depressed mood. May 9, 2008

 Slings and stones
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):
1. War is hell
2. Coming back home can be worse


Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly cast as Hank Deerfield, a retired sergeant in the Military Police whose son Mike has gone missing shortly after returning home from active duty in Iraq.

Refusing to believe that Mike would go AWOL, Hank gets into his truck and heads off for the Army base to find out what really happened. He runs into the brick wall of Army protocol and the stone wall of the Police when it comes to military matters, and stubbornly sticks his own craggy mug into the investigation.

His tenaciousness and crime scene experience eventually help him to win the respect of Police Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) who begins assisting him, and together they put together the pieces after some gruesome remains are discovered on Army property. Small but significant roles are played by Susan Sarandon, Jason Patric, James Franco and Josh Brolin, and Frances Fisher is at her most revealing.

Much more than the story of a man searching for his son, this movie is based on actual events, and illustrates the mental trauma that affects some military personnel after their experiences in combat and conflict situations. The Valley of Elah, by the way, is the site of the biblical mismatch between David and Goliath.

A powerful movie that's well worth watching, with stellar performances from Jones and Theron.



Amanda Richards, May 4, 2008
May 4, 2008

 moving drama hampered slightly by whodunit format
***1/2

In Paul Haggis' low-keyed drama, "In the Valley of Elah," a retired army officer goes in search of his son, who may have gone AWOL while on leave from Iraq. When Hank Deerfield receives the call informing him that Mike has not reported for duty, the concerned father heads to the army base in New Mexico to try to ascertain the young man's whereabouts and find out what's up.

Stylistically, "Elah" is the polar opposite of Haggis' previous film, the overwrought and overrated "Crash," which fairly screamed its message from every nook and cranny, using its plot points and characters as little more than mouthpieces to drive home a single point. Here, the writer/director has toned things down considerably, finally trusting the drama and characters to speak for themselves. Haggis is obviously against the Iraq War but he doesn`t make speeches about it, preferring instead to let the message filter its way through the story, such as having upbeat news assessments frequently playing on radios and TVs in the background as an ironic counterpoint to the foreground action.

In fact, if anything, the film touches on the subject of the Iraq War almost too obliquely at times, permitting the trite whodunit aspects of the story to take precedence over the human drama. Still, there are some tremendously moving and powerful moments in the film, courtesy of incisive writing by Haggis and shattering performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandan as the young soldier`s parents. Jones, who is rarely off screen for the duration of the movie, conveys the world-weary stoicism of a man torn between a love for the military and a dawning awareness that his lifelong bellicosity might be in some way responsible for what has happened to his son. It's an exquisitely internalized and understated performance. Sarandon receives far less screen time than Jones but still manages to make an indelible impact as a longsuffering woman who may have been forced to go a bridge too far in sacrificing what is most dear to her for her country. A scene in which the two of them talk on the phone is one of the most emotionally wrenching moments in recent movie history. Charlize Theron plays a sympathetic homicide detective who assists Hank in his search for the truth.

At an overlong 122 minutes, "In the Valley of Elah" is in no hurry to tell its story, an admirable philosophy in and of itself, but one that frequently leads to attenuation and a dissipation of passion. Nevertheless, in its own unassuming way, the movie makes its case for how boys are sent off to fight old men's wars (the Valley of Elah is where a young David defeated Goliath) and how they often return home so psychologically scarred and emotionally damaged that they can no longer function in a peacetime setting. May 4, 2008

 One of Tommy Lee Jones' strongest roles
After his career in the military, Hank Deerfield (Jones) settles down for a quiet life with his wife, Joan. He's not particularly worried at first when he learns his son is AWOL after coming back from Iraq--these things happen.

When the local police call to tell him his son's dead, Hank can't believe it and he enlists Emily Sanders (Theron) a local cop to help him solve his case. He gets his clues from his son's cell phone files, credit card receipts and testimony from fellow troop members.

The story's a harsh reminder that the war does not end when "Johnny comes marching home" and many of our troops and their families need help they're not getting from either the military or local officials. While Jones initially is only seeking to find his son, he uncovers a lot more about the realities of war than many of us would want to see. In my opinion, this is Jones' best performance yet.

Rebecca Kyle, April 2008 May 1, 2008

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