Review: In the Valley of Elah
Masterful Performances in a Tightly-Written Drama
Based on a true story, Paul Haggis' gripping film about the psychological effects of war, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon.
Everything and everyone is complex in this movie: there are no good guys, and no bad guys. Just life, hope, desperation, people fighting to hang on to their beliefs.
In the Valley of Elah tells the story of Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones), an ex military policeman searching for his son, a soldier who has mysteriously gone AWOL after returning home from Iraq. Stonewalled by the military, Jones turns for help to civilian detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), who reluctantly steps up to the plate. As the two piece together clues, they form a grudging friendship that leads to personal epiphanies, major and minor, while Hank’s wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) fights to contain her frustration on the sidelines.
Subtle Depiction of War's Dehumanizing Effect
The film has visceral impact, without clubbing the audience over the head. We witness the dehumanizing effect of war on our soldiers, in a more graphic, yet less theatrical way than in classics like Platoon or Apocalypse Now. We see the little battles being fought and lost, as Hank struggles with his starched patriotism, and his whole set of values is turned upside down.
The film is directed by Paul Haggis, who wrote the screenplay based on a true story by Mark Boal (“Death and Dishonor,” Playboy, May 2004). Haggis’ writing shows the same subtlety and depth that he brought to scripts like Crash and Million Dollar Baby, more often than not choosing the road less traveled.
In the Valley of Elah deals with more than two sides of a coin on issues we have put on the shelf for too long. It’s not an anti-Iraq War movie in the sense of questioning the role or purpose of US forces there. But it drives hard, though indirect, questions at things like the military’s inscrutable wall of silence, or the meaning of patriotism. At one point, a soldier glosses over another’s torture of a wounded Iraqi by saying, “It was just a way to cope. We all did stupid things.”
Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones Shine
There are brilliant performances throughout. Under another director, these characters might have easily been inflated into larger-than-life caricatures. But under Haggis, even the minor roles—from soldiers to strippers—feel as if they were plucked right out of the real-life bases and bars where they work. Theron simmers with understated intensity. Sarandon’s performance is riveting, capturing her character with a handful of brush strokes on the screen. But this film could not be what it is without Jones. It’s his best work ever, a performance of rare genius and depth, all the more so because it never feels like he’s acting.
This is not a first date film. It’s not an easy film to watch. It’s likely to affect people in any number of ways. But it’s a film people should see. It will be nominated for Oscars (note the plural).
- Grade: A+
- Rated R
- Running time: 124 minutes
- Studio: Warner Independent Pictures
