rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2007
Directed by Paul Haggis; produced by Laurence Becsey, Darlene Caamano, Paul Haggis, Steve Samuels, Patrick Wachsberger; screenplay by Paul Haggis; story by Mark Boal, Paul Haggis
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, Jason Patric, Frances Fisher, Josh Brolin
Hollywood wonder boy Paul Haggis delivers again with 'In the Valley of Elah', a film centering around a murdered soldier just back from a mission in Iraq. Tommy Lee Jones is his father Hank, who used to be with the military police, teaming up with Detective Sanders (Charlize Theron) to solve the crime. Hank, a real patriot, slowly loses faith in the US military when pieces of the puzzle fall into place. The film has a clear message, and tells an intriguing mystery story at the same time.
The body of Hank's son, named Mike, is found burned and in pieces. At first it seems the jurisdiction it the military's, but Hank discovers the actual killing happened close to a public road which means the police has to deal with it. Sanders gets the case, already started by the military, which gives complications since they are not working along very well. It seems quite clear things are hidden from the investigators.
Hank has stolen Mike's phone from the base and retrieves a lot of images and little films from it. The films show different things, inlcuding combat, torture, everyday life, Mike driving a military vehicle. All of them could be little answers to the mystery of how and why Mike was killed. Hank is sure about that and we believe him. There is something poignant in the performance of Tommy Lee Jones, who turns Hank into a quiet man saying so much with so little words.
The film is carried by Jones and, in lesser ways, by Theron. Seeing performers on the top of their game is always a pleasure. Here these two are supported by famous faces from Jason Patric, James Franco, Frances Fisher, Josh Brolin and Susan Sarandon in a small but very important role as Hank's wife and, more importantly, Mike's mother. The screenplay, also by Haggis, is intelligent, both in its message and in slowly unfolding a mystery.
'In the Valley of Elah' is a succesful attempt to show both horrors from Iraq and then the ones you have to face after coming home. These men, as it seems, are changed for life.