CommentsXp
Best movie ever!
Ortiz
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
jb_campo
In the Valley of Elah is a poignant film that deadpans its way to impact you. The cast list shows many people in the film, but in reality, this is a duet with Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron, with some cameos by Jason Patric as the military agent, and Susan Sarandon as the mother. TL Jones is ex military all the way, and he EXUDEs ex-military in his demeanor, his talk, and his habits. He was also an MP, so he knows how to go about an investigation. His youngest son Mike was in the middle east and has returned home. Suddenly they receive a call that Mike is AWOL if he does not show up by the end of the weekend.Jones drives all night to the town where Mike's base is, and starts a search. He figures Mike is letting off some steam. What happens next shakes him, and his relationship with is wife, to its core. Jones maintains his military demeanor, while inside he's being ripped apart.This is a tour de force performance from Tommy Lee Jones, for which he received a nomination for an Academy award as best actor, along with a slew of other nominations. You can tell he loves his son deeply, but that he understands the stresses of the military. His emotions show that yep, perhaps he did stuff his son did. And sadly, maybe he even went down other paths that he just won't talk about to anyone. This film is a monument to the often silent love and respect between a father and a son, no matter what happens. It was fantastic to see this played out with such depth and economy of acting. Equally excellent was Charlize Theron. For once she was not pimped out to exude her womanhood. In fact, she was made to look like a regular person, which allowed her acting skills to pour out because she wasn't trying to look cool or act cool. She was just trying to act the part. She played the police officer who has no respect from her fellow male officers who constantly taunt or joke on her. Until she shows them how smart she really is. And later shows them how far ahead of them she read tragic events that they laughed at her for. As a single mother, she's reliving almost the young Mike of TL Jones, and learning about the bond between a mother and her son, and how that too is important. The father being gone it seems.In the Valley of Elah is not quick paced. There's not a lot the happens. The story is even pretty simple. But the acting, wow, it's terrific. Susan Sarandon as the mother hits all the right notes too. I won't rate this a must-see, but it's pretty darn good if you want a film that examines the complicated combination of the military mixed with a father/son relationship that gets strained, but never broken, and eventually, albeit sadly, uplifted. Enjoy.
juneebuggy
This was an excellent movie. Captivating and emotional from beginning to end and affecting me so that it's left me thinking about it for days afterwards -always the sign of a good movie. Its primarily a straight-ahead crime story but also an anti-war statement showing how war changes soldiers forever and turns some into animals.The cast is fantastic, lead in a brilliant performance from Tommy Lee Jones as a Vietnam war vet and career serviceman who goes on a quest to find his soldier son who disappears after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq. Charlize Theron is also very good as a local police detective fighting her way out of the "boys club" to find the truth.There are several other big names in small roles including Susan Sarandon who is powerful as Mike's grief stricken mother, showing a lot of emotion with very little. I was actually surprised by the stars included in such small roles including (Frances Fisher, Jake McLaughlin, James Franco, Jason Patric, Josh Brolin) they either wanted to be attached to the anti-war statement or work with director Paul Haggis.The movie does become increasingly gloomy and is also violently graphic at times. The mystery aspect was well played out as I never did figure out who done it and when that finally came to light wow...Despite liking this movie so much I was left with several unanswered questions including why does the guy hang himself, why did he have the watch and what was the purpose of Mike sending his dad the folded flag? I also could have done without the "for the children" image at the end.The upside down American flag was brilliant and desperately sad depicting as Hank explains early in the movie that an upside down flag signifies distress. America is in distress. 11/16/15
g-bodyl
Unlike many films based around the Iraqi War, In the Valley of Elah is not really a political-based movie at all and is more of a thorough murder mystery. If one doesn't pay enough attention, people may view the film as pacifist or anti-military. But on a closer look, this film is a fascinating study on the human condition of soldiers as they return to the homefront after a brutal war. In that aspect, this film is emotional as any and perhaps this will bring light to everyone's eyes. As the film itself, it is incredibly well-made and the acting is fantastic starting with the ever-great Tommy Lee Jones.Paul Haggis, the director known for 2005's Best Picture Winner Crash, directs a film about a Vietnam veteran named Hank Greenfield who finds out his son has returned from overseas, but has not been home yet. When Hank goes out to search for his son, he uncovers something much more than he had bargained for.The acting is excellent. The film plays to the strength of Tommy Lee Jones's personality. A grumpy man who rarely smiles and as always, Jones blasts his performance out of the water. Charlize Theron does a good job as the cop who is working alongside Jones. Susan Sarandon is great as the grieving wife of Jones. We also have some good cameos by James Franco and Josh Brolin.Overall, In the Valley of Elah is a smart, well-scripted drama/mystery film. It may seen anti-war at first, but it's just a study on the psychological mess soldiers suffer. It's not propaganda, it's just the truth. I understood what Haggis was trying to say, unlike many people who take the message out of proportion. It's very powerful and it will pack a heavy punch with your emotions, so be prepared. It's not for light-viewing, but it uses a powerful story to deliver the message. I rate this film 10/10.
richard-798
Every play/screenplay contains a mystery. David Mamet's credo. Haggis and Mark Boal know how to structure a story with plenty of mystery. Elah is one of the best treatments of Iraq subject matter you'll ever see. They tread some sensitive material and they know how to work a plot. Charlise Theron and Tommy Lee Jones are fascinating to watch, they are the synthesis of two types of acting: playing-against and underplay. They are the best at quiet aggression and anxiety. The film rides on a razor's edge and the cast couldn't be better at balance and restraint. Jason Patric and Josh Brolin submit a low-key intensity in their performances that is nerve-wracking. Great stuff. This film is not for everyone. If you like what the Bush administration accomplished with creating a war in Iraq, what it has done to our society and some of our young military men and women, this movie is stark, real, and unpleasant in it's duplicity of military duty and innate civil morality. You will feel caught in the vise along with the civilians and military men depicted. Ultimately, the film belongs to Jones. He is a father who must face the truth about his son's behavior in the war zone, and the truth of his murder by his own comrades. Theron and/or Jones should have won awards for their roles. Brilliant filmmaking supported by equally brilliant acting. Feature movie-making at its best. If you don't like this kind of story construction, watch television. Bite the bullet and sit through it. You owe it to so many who have served and been injured, physically and mentally, by our government in a false war that never should have been engaged.
