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In The Valley Of Elah [2008]
 
In The Valley Of Elah [2008]
Notch up another great role for Tommy Lee Jones here, as his starring performance in the lead of In The Valley Of Elah is a further acting performance of real merit. And this from the man who has already recently added the equally excellent No Country For Old Men to his CV.

In The Valley Of Elah, however, is a very different beast. It's the new film from writer/director Paul Haggis, he who previously brought us Oscar-winner Crash, and Jones stars as Hank Deerfield, a man who decides to take matters into his own hands when he finds out that his son has disappeared. However, what complicates matters is that Deerfield's son is a soldier on leave, and the military are proving to be little help in getting to the bottom of the mystery.

Yet there's far more to In The Valley Of Elah than that, even though its narrative is interesting and surprising. No, there are real layers of drama here, and none more obvious than those surrounding Jones' character (the lead actor, incidentally, snagged a richly-deserved Oscar nomination for his work here). He's an understated, yet brilliant, creation, and one quite wonderfully brought to life. In conjunction with Susan Sarandon as his wife, and Charlize Theron as the detective he enlists the help of, In The Valley Of Elah emerges as one of the most unfairly overlooked films of recent times, and one that's ripe for discovery on DVD. A superb piece of work. --Jon Foster

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Customer Reviews for In The Valley Of Elah [2008]
"We're So Sorry For Your Loss...If There's Anything We Can Do..." posted on 2008-12-18
"In The Valley Of Elah" isn't really a movie about the Iraq War - it's about the soldiers who return home from it and the parents of those soldiers who don't return home at all.

Written and directed by Paul Haggis (who did the equally superb "Crash" and "Million Dollar Baby"), the movie is far less showy than "Rendition" and less posturing than the ridiculous "Lions For Lambs". And while "Elah" has an unfolding power in its carefully measured pace, it's also braver in its assessment of the American military and their less-than-angelic ways...

Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon play Hank & Joan Deerfield, the parents of a young soldier Mike Deerfield, who has inexplicably gone missing since his return from a tour in Bosnia and Iraq in November 2004. Hank visits the base where his son bunked, but neither Jason Patrick as Lieutenant Kirklander, James Franco as Sgt. Carnelli nor any of his division buddies are helpful - and worse - many seem unnerved - almost as if they're hiding something very nasty. A local beleaguered Detective in the police force, single-parent Emily Sanders (played by a superb Charlize Theron) gets embroiled in what she suspects is a grieving father being shafted by the canny US military. And without giving away too much, on the story goes...

One of the movies great strengths is of course the presence and capability of real heavyweights like Jones, Sarandon and Theron. Tommy Lee in particular is sensational. Just when you thought you'd seen every stone-clad grimace he can throw at you, for "Elah" he digs down deep and finds tremulous moments that floor you with their power and humanity. His character Deerfield is "army" - old-school values and discipline - he presses his trousers over a table to get the crease right - fixes an American flag that has been hanging upside down - calls all women 'mam' and won't be seen without a clean shirt on in front of any of them. Yet Hank is not naive either - he knows that his boy's tour of Iraq wouldn't have been without sickening cruelty or even dishonour. But what gives the movie its emotional core is his skill at depicting that. You can 'feel' his barely-contained lashing-out rage bubbling underneath - or when he just quietly sits in his pick-up truck in sad-eyed despair - why are American sons left in pieces on scrubs for wild animals to feed on - did I impose my 'will' on my boy and force the army life on him - and why does civilian America not give a shit about any of it?

There's a scene where Sarandon walks away with her husband down a corridor - there's no music - just them walking away - her hand outstretched in disbelief. The camera stays stationary - watching them walk away in silence - and you know the buckle into his arms is going to come - you know it - and yet when it does - it still has the power of real hurt.

Theron is great too - one of the most intelligent actresses working in Hollywood today - she has her beauty toned down by dowdy dark hair and clunky uniforms - and it works - you concentrate on her first rate acting. There's a scene when she hugs her sleeping son at night who needs the bedroom door open because he's scared - she hugs him close - thankful that he is not another statistic of some ignored list somewhere - you 'feel' what is precious to us - and the utter devastation of having that link to our very soul taken away...

The supporting cast is also universally superb - really good actors in a quality film given quality material to work with - and they know it. Jason Patrick gets his part in years as the army spokesman trapped between the two worlds of the Army's need to cover up and the public's need for the truth; Josh Brolin plays the local Police Chief, weary of unsolved cases and ever so slightly disinterested, but a man who knows that his female detective will terrier out the ugly no matter what. Barry Corbin (of Northern exposure fame) puts in a touching old-army buddy cameo with Tommy Lee in a café, while Jake McLaughlin and Mehcad Brooks are idealistic and young as the 'just following orders' grunts. Wes Chatham in particular is chillingly fantastic as Corporal Penning - detached and jauntily psychotic as he discusses how hungry he gets after a good day's killing...

"In The Valley Of Elah" is a phrase from the Bible parable about David and Goliath - where David must beat his fear of the monster - and win. "Elah" is neither jolly nor pretty - but it has amazing truths in it. I thought it was an exceptional movie and it stayed with me long after I pressed the stop button. Much like war and its aftermath I suspect...

Put this film high on your 'must-see' list and well done to all the good people involved.
 
Whodunit and whytheydunit posted on 2008-10-18
This is an interesting film; a good solid whodunit combined with a bit of Americans-in-combat-angst. Usually such a mixture would result in a mess, but in this case they fit together wonderfully well. There are lots of good performances linked to two main ones from the female cop (Charlize Theron) and Tommy Lee Jones as the institutionalised ex-military policeman. If the film has a theme (other than just a damned good plot) it is to do with the lack of male communication. This is admirably communicated by Jones in his at times robotic performance. Is it grief at the death of his son or is a life of polishing shoes and creasing trousers just ingrained, the story does not feel the need to tell us; which is very much part of the theme? But Jones suggests both; such that an apology or compliment from him is a high feature in the character development. The film lacks easy villains (though it tempts you to believe in them before removing the rug from beneath your feet). There are a number of times where the story looks to be over most tidily only for it to kick off again. Most films cannot manage one good ending, this one manages several.
 
Super posted on 2008-10-17
I loved this film, in spite of its depressing, nihilistic story. Perhaps it's a story that needed telling, but what I loved was the acting, directing and dialogues. A number of scenes were like stand-alone set-pieces which you could just follow from beginning to end, and at the end breath "wow"! Tommy Lee Jones gave a master-class in restrained, emotional acting, Susan Sarandon had a smallish part but was totally believable in it, and Charlize Theron, an actress I knew little of, beautifully portrayed a character gradually emerging throughout the film. All the supporting cast were excellent and I just couldn't take my eyes off it from beginning to end. Another triumph for writer director Haggis.
 
War...whats it good for ? Absolutely nothing . posted on 2008-10-01
Anyone who has seen director Paul Haggis Oscar winning movie Crash [2004] [2005] ( a worthy but heavy handed drama on race relations for those that haven't seen it) would be forgiven for expecting more of the same from In The Valley Of Elah. However writer and director Haggis has delivered a far more subtle examination of war and it's effects on those who have to fight them. In this he is helped considerably by terrific performances from a stellar cast.
Retired army officer Hank Deerfield ( Tommy Lee Jones) receives a phone call to tell him that his son recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq has gone AWOL from his army base. Leaving his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) behind this stoical man sets off in his pick up to see if he can shed any light on his sons disappearance. Has the lad just gone off with a woman for the weekend ? , has he actually done a bunk or is there something more sinister behind it?
When a dismembered and badly burnt corpse is discovered near the base a laborious and meticulous investigation begins with Hank eliciting the help of local law enforcement officer Det Emily Saunders ( Charlize Theron ) a single mother also struggling with the endemic sexism of her workplace and the jurisdictional politics of the case.
Here we have a film with an agenda but this gradually unfurls as Hank clinically discovers his sons fate. We see this through his eyes as he views mobile phone footage from Iraq and discovers that the system and life he has admired and followed all his adult life ( its pertinent that we see him still carry out his army rituals - creasing trousers, tucking in his bedding etc) is implicit in his sons fate. That in fighting a stupid war thousands of miles away America is f***king up a generation of young men .(several of the young men playing soldiers in the film had actually served in Iraq)
Many will find In The Valley Of Elah far too ponderous . The film like it's main character takes its time in getting where it is going . Neither is Hank the most engaging character but Tommy Lee Jones gives a superbly nuanced and reined in performance ,his craggy visage rarely betraying too much .Lee does his acting with his eyes and it is especially effective in the scenes where Hank discovers shocking truths or has to confront the consequences of his sons fate head on
Okay the symbolism is a little too heavy handed at times -and the David and Goliath metaphor left me a little puzzled -something about facing up to monsters? But the final conclusion that a nation cannot expect to send young men off to war to do and see horrible things and then accept them back into normal society with no recriminations is difficult to argue with , especially as this film is based on a true incident.


 
The effects of war posted on 2008-09-05
Hank Deerfield (played by Tommy Lee Jones) is a retired veteran and military police officer searching for his son who has gone AWOL. Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) becomes interested in the case and starts helping Hank outside of her job. When Hank's son's body is found, the search suddenly turns into a search for the murderer.

Tommy Lee Jones gives one of his best performances as a relentless, humourless driven father, who has not been the best father, but doesn't rest until he finds the closure he desperately needs on the matter of the murder of his son.

Susan Sarandon was totally underused in the part of Hanks wife, but the little we are shown of her is riveting.

Charlize Theron plays down her beauty and gives what we've come to expect from her - a great performance.

But "In the Valley of Elah" isn't an action packed, fast paced search for a killer. Instead it's a deep and meaningful look at the effect that the war in Iraq is having on the soldiers it sends back home. In that regard it's not for everyone. Its not an easy film to watch, and perhaps it shouldn't be. Although it works as a mystery, the movie is much more a character drama. Paul Haggis has followed his Oscar winner "Crash" with another film similar in tone. Both are concerned with violence and humanity, but "Elah" does not use any of its characters as "Crash" seemed to.
 
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