Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 02:14:38

war or drugs?

This is one of the disastrous antiwar movies that came out in the last few years; They all bombed no matter what budget class they were in. This was one of the A list entries and acting wise it was by far the best of the entire a or b list movies. It's a murder mystery and it showcases the supposed damage that happens to men of war. That they may suddenly butcher their own friends for no reason. this is outrageous in some regards and made most people laugh in the movie house I saw it in when a character claims everyone kills their friends. This is not a proven fact but what is proven is that drugs or heavy drinking (both are even worse) combined with bad experiences can lead to violence or suicide. In spite of this the movie is well acted by top performers and has a decent story behind it. This isn't a smear job like other antiwar movies instead it seeks to say that we are in distress and in truth we are. You can't medicate war traumas with substances this leads to disaster and that should have been more in the front of this flick. But that being said the movie is a murder mystery and it has a small basis in fact , and it is not mean spirited and anti military people like lets say the loathsome 'the generals daughter" or the absolutely false "haditha" were. On blu ray this movie looks great and it was a early release relatively on the format. Whatever your views on the war one can find sympathy for the soldiers we sent over to iraq as they were sent over and over into battle in a ruthless manner. But it's the use of hard drinking or drugs that inevitably lead to most violence among vets and without that factor many vets (but not all) who did violent acts , would have never committed crimes and in truth most returning vets don't commit crimes either, something the movie doesn't state. The film mainly focuses on those who are violent. Still with three great actors heading this film it's hard not to enjoy their efforts. The movie isn't boring and is straighforward and isn't about smearing the vets of today and this makes it a more decent type of antiwar movie than most.

2012-05-24 15:33:48

Death, Duty, Dishonor

" Underneath its deceptively quiet surface, 'The Valley of Elah' is a raw, angry, earnest attempt to grasp the moral consequences of the war in Iraq, and to stare without blinking into the chasm that divides those who are fighting it from their families, their fellow citizens and one another." A.O.ScottTommy Lee Jones, as Hank Deerfield, plays this role as it was meant to be. He is gruff, polished, a former MP in the Army, and his love for duty, honor and his country and an upright sense of right and wrong is a sign of his exrtreme faith. He makes his motel bed each morning with tight military edges. During the course of the film, one can see his face sag and his wrinkles deepen and his torment is written on his face for all to see. There is no make-up that can etch that misery, it came from within and that, my friend, is a sign of an accomplished thespian. Hank has been told that his son, Mike, an Army Specialist, returned from Iraq only two days is AWOL. No one knows where he is or what happened to him. After a few days, Hank gets into his truck, drives to the Army barracks in the south where his son was stationed and begins an investigation himself. He meets his son's Army buddies, and the stonewall that the Army has erected.When the charred pieces of his son's body are found by a desert road near the base, Hank puts his battle face on. The only clues he has are some JPEGs his son e-mailed to him. We see in the film, Hank awakening night after night from the memory of a late-night phone call from Mike in the war zone, and we see scrambled video recovered from Mike's cellphone. These unfocused streams are a simile of what is wrong in this war and what we are missing in the nightly news. What is really happening in Iraq?He runs into Emily Sanders, a local detective played by Charlize Theron. Both of them are trying to figure out who could have done such a terrible thing to his boy. Charlize Theron is superb in this role. She underplays the role, is ruthless with her superiors in pushing an investigation, and time and time again she is given new insights into the investigation by Hank. He has experience and knows his job.The underlying theme of this movie is the war in Iraq. There is no questioning of why are we there, should we be there, no, the message is the terrible impact this war has had on our soldiers and on us and more of what is yet to come.Hank asks us "What is what we're doing in Iraq doing to us?" The title of the film is derived from a Biblical reference, "The Valley of Elah is best known as the scene of the Biblical battle between David and Goliath (Elah means terebinth, a tree commonly found in this area). The brook of Elah, which lies in the heart of the valley, is a seasonal creek that runs dry in the summer months. Most probably the brook from which David chose five smooth stones in preparation for battle, it is the ideal place to reminisce about what is arguably the most famous story from the Bible. The Elah Valley is fifteen miles from Bethlehem." Bible.com"The David and Goliah reference is in Haggis' metaphorical scheme, cast as the giant caught off guard. That's a profoundly unsettling idea, but In the Valley of Elah also uses the American flag to bring you to tears. It's the first Hollywood Iraq movie to remind me of a Vietnam film like Coming Home, and it does more than disturb. It scalds, moves, and heals."Owen Gleiberman This film has left a scar on my soul. I will remember Tommy Lee Jones's performance as a reference of what America is feeling about the loss of our soldiers in Iraq and what we have asked of them. What have we done?Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 02-24-08The Three Burials of Melquiades EstradaMan of the House

2012-05-23 00:53:55

Trash and a waste of time

This movie was propaganda trash. All the actors are democrats(shocking) and it was a cowardly attack against our brave soldiers.This movie made me sick. Tommy Lee Jones is a disgrace. Susan Sarandonis sickening. If I saw them in person, I'd spit on them for spitting onour soldiers by implying they are all messed up on drugs andexperience. Anti-American scum. I think anyone who was in this filmshould think twice about being in the United States and move to acountry, like Iraq, since they obviously think values in that countryare better than ours. This movie was absolutely dire and shocking and Ican't believe anyone who claims to be American is happy that this hasbeen shown around the world and condones how it depicts our bravesoldiers. It made me irate.

2012-05-22 05:14:36

A tragic story of loss upon loss in a search for truth

I can certainly see why this film is controversial. I personally liked it and assumed it was about a single terrible and tragic incident and was not true of every man and woman who served and serves in Iraq. There are critics of the film who think the film is saying negative messages about all the men and women who serve in Iraq, which I don't think is the case with this film. Basically the film tells the story of a career military father searching for his son and then searching for his son's killers. This poor father discovers more than he imagined about his son, the killers, and the conditions in Iraq that may make some individuals act out in a violent manner when they return to the United States. Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank Deerfield, who is a retired military police officer. He meets brick walls in his investigation of his son's disappearance. He is joined in his search by police detective Emily Sanders, played by Charlize Theron, who realizes that the pieces of the puzzle don't add up in the search for the killer or killers of this young man. She is able to obtain an inside perspective that assists Mr. Deerfield in his search. Do soldiers sometimes use drugs? Do they form strong bonds with the other young males? Do they sometimes engage in violent behavior? Do they sometimes witness violent behavior? Do they sometimes lose themselves in the group or pack mentality? The answer to all these questions is certainly. Thus the film is showing one incident where these factors come together with a tragic outcome and is not meant to be an indictment of men and women in the armed forces. I never suspected that that this was a motive for the film. The film is well acted and thought provoking. The mysteries within mysteries keep the viewer entertained and attentive to the details.

2012-05-21 06:31:27

A victory for dramatic license

A lot has been made over this film not being true to actual events. However, my criteria when watching a story falls to the plot, characters, and how well it engages my interest. In that respect I have to give this film high marks, especially for the acting of Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron. Yes, the film takes potshots at the military, but no group should be sacrosant. Just look to the Tillman case to see an example of military screwup. All wars produce a group of mentally damaged vets, and Iraq has fathered it share of them. Just enjoy this film for the drama and forget about the politics.

rob-911-162983 2012-05-20 07:56:56

A heartless affair

Canadian film maker Paul Haggis created 'EZ Streets,' a morally grayshow about a corrupt city where the cops and politicians were just ascrooked as the gangsters who were actually running things. JoePantoliano played Jimmy Murtha, a murderer and drug dealer who choppedoff his victims' hands and used them to plant fingerprints on murderweapons. Murtha was so three dimensional and well written, however,that he was both compelling and somewhat tragic. Haggis' next show,'The Black Donnellys,' featured a flock of Irsh gangsters who killedpeople and dismembered their corpses to get rid of evidence whileattempting to take over organized crime in New York. Like Murtha,Haggis viewed them as sympathetic and often tragic figures. Gangstersare okay in Haggis' book, as long as they're at least half Irish.The recurring message that Haggis promulgates in this film is thatsoldiers who suffer from PTSD are all evil murderers. I'm only slightlyhyperbolizing. Tommy Lee Jones displays great earnestness and littleelse as a Vietnam veteran named Hank Deerfield, who is trying to findhis missing son. He seeks out the help of a female police detective,who in an underdeveloped subplot is harassed on occasion bymisogynistic police cohorts. She hates soldiers (and rebukes one whodares to suggest that he's defending her freedom by serving in themilitary), because her dad was an evil and abusive soldier, and becauseshe's investigating a tangential domestic violence case involvinganother evil soldier.Deerfield's son, an enigma whom we learn absolutely nothing aboutexcept that he was evil and tortured innocent Iraqis for laughs, iseventually found in a field, having been stabbed dozens of times andset on fire. Deerfield tries to find the truth, but discovers that allof the polite and helpful soldiers he talked to are actually evilmurderers who attacked his son (and their friend) because of a minorargument and killed him.This story is based on a real incident, fictionalized by Haggis totrivialize a serious issue and use it for political ammunition. A lotof soldiers suffer from PTSD, and sadly there have been an abnormalnumber of murders across the U.S. committed by soldiers returning fromstressful combat deployments. The victims have typically been spousesor fellow soldiers, but this issue isn't explored in any detail here.Instead we get an ambiguous metaphor about David and Goliath. Some saythat it represents the plight of soldiers battling PTSD, but in lightof Deerfield's story to the child and the use of the flag at the end ofthe film, I think that Haggis is saying that Goliath is the UnitedStates, and a rock (Iraq) is going to bring it down.I tried to be objective when I skewered 'Redacted,' but this film mademe even angrier. Writers Mark Boal ('opportunist' personified) and PaulHaggis avoid taking an objective look at the tragic crimes committed byand against veterans, and use them to further a political agenda. Theyportray veterans in the most alarmist and hateful way possible, and itsaddens me that so many people complimented this film. The performancesare good, the direction is adequate, I still don't know why militarypolice drove to a crime scene in Humvees instead of taking their patrolcars.EZ Streets was compelling because even characters who did reprehensiblethings were humanized, which made the audience care about them. JimmyMurtha was a horrible person, but when we find out that his brotheroverdosed on drugs that Murtha payed for, it makes you empathize withhim. That's what a good writer does: he or she makes you care about thecharacters they created regardless of whether they're good or bad. Thefailure of this film is that Haggis forgot his own lesson. The soldiersare all shallow and personality deprived military caricatures portrayedby unknown actors, and we see only the briefest glimpses of theirhumanity. These glimpses are eventually revealed to be fraudulentbecause the murderers are trying to avoid suspicion. The pathetic, basehatred for veterans that Charlize Theron's character espouses reallysums up this film's intent.More than 300,000 former soldiers and marines suffer from PTSD or majordepression. We have lost more of our young veterans to suicide than tocombat, but Paul Haggis doesn't care. He doesn't want you to feelcompassion for them, he wants you to HATE them because they fought in awar he feels was unjust. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, and Iam entitled to enjoy knowing that his film 'The Next Three Days' was abox office flop. Oh, and 'Crash' was a horrible, cloying film that theman behind EZ Streets should be ashamed of. 'Elah' is a black heartedpropaganda piece that belongs in the same category. If the soldiers itdepicted had been drug dealing Irish gangsters, I suppose he would havehad more sympathy for them.

davideo-2 2012-05-19 13:27:42

A thrilling and riveting story without being too political or heavy handed

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) is a man who has lost two sons to war.He's only recently learned of the death of his youngest son, but he'snot been killed in Iraq- his remains have been found on ground insuspicious circumstances. Hank turns to Detective Sanders (CharlizeTheron) to help him find his son's killers and the motivation behindit. But as he does, he comes closer to discovering a truth that is morethan anyone can bear.Having directed the absolutely superb drama Crash a few years ago,director Paul Haggis has stamped a name for himself as someone toreckon with and watch out for in the world of Hollywood. But afterdirecting such a powerful drama, he's taken a surprising turn ofdirection with what turns out to be a clever murder mystery. Well, it'ssort of a drama, too, but this very talented director has managed tomake a film that focuses more on the thriller aspect and derives agripping, intricate tale without delving too deep into his personalpolitics regarding the Iraq war.Performances wise, he's on a winning streak too. In a role he couldplay in his sleep, a craggy faced Jones is very good as a reserved,weary man with the weight of the world on his shoulders who now onlylives to bring justice to his son, while a very uneffeminite Theronshows what a fine actress she is as a determined, eager police womanmade to endure crass sexism from her pathetically bigoted colleagues,as well as learning that the flimsiest of cases can have direconsequences if they're not investigated properly. The film can alsoboast a terrific supporting cast, in the shape of Jason Patric, SusanSarandon, James Franco and Josh Brolin.A gripping mystery, with stirring performances and only the subtlest ofpolitical subtexts, In the Valley of Elah strikes another direct hitfor Mr Haggis. ****

Danny Blankenship 2012-05-19 02:21:44

War seen as a myth and a religious parable, yet this film is still interesting and soul searching.

You can say that "In the Valley of Elah" isn't the best war film or foreven that matter a war picture as it's focus is that of a moreemotional and soul searching drama with the war seen as a backdrop andit's seen more of a parable of old bible times. Anyway the story isgood it involves Mike Deerfield a solider returning from his Iraq tourand upon entering the U.S. he suddenly goes missing. Enter Tommy LeeJones in one of his most true and direct tough and gritty emotionalperformances as father Hank and as a polished ex-MP he goes on a searchthat leads him on many twist and turns from low rent motels, sleazystrip clubs, to concern about gangs and drugs combined with theinterviewing and investigating of military people and also a wellplaced doubt on the police investigators. Good supporting performancesare also provided from Charlize Theron as a concerned detective andSusan Sarandon as always is in form and believable as a concernedmother.This film turns to be more than just a look at battled soldiers and warit takes it's turns as a tangled web of cover-ups, mystery, doubt,battered emotions, and murder that thru it all reveals the pain andmemories that war costs making one seek for comfort by looking at apersonal cost like an ancient parable. Watch and you will see what Imean after viewing the film because you have to watch for yourself tounderstand the message.

Danielle 2012-05-14 06:30:25

Devastating

I cried through half of it. It wasn't what I expected, but I believethat was completely intentional - you're sure that some dark conspiracywill be revealed, but of course the truth is so much simpler and somuch darker than you could have imagined. No one suffers a bullet woundor a IED attack . . . instead the movie focuses on the brutalpsychological toll that war, especially this war, takes on the peopleinvolved. The movie's message sneaks up on you - you're trying to solvethe mystery, determine the red herrings, discern the clues, but it'sall misdirection. By the end, you've gotten the message quitethoroughly, and it's about how participating in war destroys the spiritof even decent people. The title refers to the place where David foughtGoliath, but anyone who thinks this is about the triumph of the littleguy over larger forces has completely missed the point.It's all very well done. Of course the movie belongs to Tommy LeeJones, and he's terrific, as everyone says, but truly, it's the womenwho give this movie its heart. Susan Sarandon is only in a couple ofscenes, but her impact is substantial. And Charlize Theron is amazing,totally amazing. She can act. And she really grounds this movie - itwould be a different, less rich experience, without her.You have to be up for it, it's a damn hard movie to watch, but it'sworth the effort.

kayaker36 2012-05-13 14:40:37

Big Disappointment. Huge

After sowing a tantalizing series of clues about how a young returneefrom Iraq was murdered, and most of all WHY, the answer turns out asbanal and commonplace as any homicide in an American inner city, onlymuch less believable.The main storyline ends in anticlimax. Various subplots simply are deadends. Questions are raised which remain unanswered at the film's end.(If the "deadbeat ex" is not, who **is** the father of Ms.Theron's son,David?) Characters are often cliché figures-- the paunchy, middle-agedlocal detectives who harass the much younger, tough-yet-sensitivefemale cop played by Charlize Theron. She weeps uncontrollably for amurder victim but see how she can utter the phrase "blow job" withcomplete insouciance.Ex college footballer Tommy Lee Jones seems to have lost a good deal ofweight, most of it in the shoulders. He looks all head in some shots.Apart from that, his face is deeply lined, his skull nearly bald. Thefilm is about his quest to learn the how and the why. He learns alsothat his soldier son returned from Iraq a substance abusing sadist.The one enjoyable sequence--and all too brief it is--is the scenebetween Charlize Theron and her boss, the youngish police chief playedwith sharp cynicism by JOSH BROLIN. We needed to see a lot more ofhim--the one local cop who knows exactly what's going on both on thestreet and in his own squad room--and who may well have enjoyed thefavors of the winsome Ms. Theron as the other members of the detectivesquad charge.

2012-05-13 02:12:05

Another statement on the war in Iraq

This review is from: In the Valley of Elah (DVD) For those of us who are veterans, this film explores some of the extremely negative effects that a war can have on an individual.As many families have discovered in this war the punishment isn't only to the enemy? but to so many Americans that it is incredibly sad, and I think that our men who serve our country should be given serious evaluation periodically while in a war zone, and as soon as they return to the U.S.In this film Tommy Lee Jones plays the father of a highly patriotic son. Tommy Lee' search to find out about his sons death takes him and his family through places that most of us just do not hear much or anything about.The film is well cast and the characters are people you would recognize all over the U.S. Making this journey an significant, meaningful film that is very much worth seeing. For both the outstanding performances and the tragic story it tells.

2012-05-12 06:47:21

We all must conquer our own fear first!

This is the first movie I watch on Apple TV. I downloaded it from iTunes as a rental, and had twenty-four hours to watch it once I started it. The movie was clear, but the audio was not that great. I tried playing around with the Apple TV and the Sony Bravia's settings, and somewhat improved the sound quality. I am not sure whether the audio problem was due to the download or to the settings on my Apple TV and Sony Bravia. I watched this movie outdoors in my farm, with a bonfire to keep my friends and I warm. I personally loved this movie, but my friends did not. They found it too slow, and didn't really understand what was going on. Two of my friends fell asleep (maybe it was the cold weather and the bonfire).The movie is about an American soldier who had served in Iraq and who goes missing. His father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, sets out to find him. Throughout the movie we learn of the atrocity of war, and the psychological effect it has on soldiers. The movie portrays that the real villain is not the Iraq war, but war itself. All wars are evil, and there never is a good side. The movie has as a message that not only is the US losing its soldiers in Iraq; it is even losing the ones that return home. The scars of war are hard to heal.The character of Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) is very well played and believable. Some reviewers have commented that she is too beautiful for the role. True, but she plays the role in such a natural and `plain' way that makes her very believable. She does not exude her sexuality, and one tends to quickly overlook her beauty for her genuine concern for the case at hand. She somehow dissolves into her character, and at one point I didn't even realize that it was Theron playing the part. She really is a great actress.Tommy Lee Jones is another great actor. He expresses emotions so well that he need not say much or move much; the expression on his face says it all. The title of the movie is derived from a Biblical story. The Valley of Elah is the scene of the battle between David and Goliath. In the Biblical story, Goliath was a ruthless and much feared warrior. He was a giant, and all feared him. No one dared to fight him. But one day, a young boy by the name of David volunteers to fight Goliath. The boy is so small that he floats in his armor. The story relates that upon seeing young David, Goliath charged upon him. Seconds before reaching him and slaughtering him, young David used his sling shot to catapult a stone on Goliath's head. Goliath instantly fell to his death from the blow. Young David, later King David, had to first overcome his fear in order to face and beat Goliath. The message the producers are giving us is clear.The movie is seen by many as an anti-war movie. I saw it in that light too, and applaud all the crew and actors for this great movie. All wars are wrong and immoral, and no one can possibly justify them! Why do we spend billions of dollars killing each other when Life, given sometime, will do it for us, and for free!The ending of this movie is one of the most memorable I have seen in a movie, and one that will stay with you for a long time. We see the US flag flying upside down, a sign of distress.I strongly recommend this movie to all.

Chris_Docker 2012-05-11 14:00:44

Probably more meanings than it is given credit for

The Vale of Elah is the place where, in the Bible, David defeatsGoliath. This complex metaphor runs throughout the film. It is almost,if not quite, too clever for its own good.In spite of a wealth of talent, our story takes two hours toinvestigate the death of someone we barely know. It looked tasty forthe first twenty minutes. After that, it can seem well past its sell-bydate. My attention span would have wandered out the door had I not thebenefit of a particularly comfortable seat, a great interest in thebuzz surrounding it, and a determination to give it a fair shot beforereviewing it. Remarkably, in the last few minutes, it turns out to berather rewarding.This sad tale asks us to empathise throughout with the elderly HankDeerfield (Tommy Lee Jones). He's a Vietnam Veteran. An ex- militarypoliceman. A devoted father. And both his sons joined the armed forces.One has already been killed. The other, Mike, is just back from Iraq.Mike is reported AWOL. Then Mike is reported dead.Everything about In the Valley of Elah is low key. Hank checks into acheap motel and goes about investigating the murder – unassumingly, ifrather more capably than either the police or the military. Frustrateddetective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) taunts him about being, "adamn good investigator surrounded by incompetents." He has to fightagainst legions of deliberate and non-deliberate incompetence – as wellas his own mistakes. His tearful wife (Susan Sarandon) breaks down,suggesting he has 'sacrificed' both their sons to the military.As a detective story, it sags. It's slow, but we sit and admire theacting. Tommy Lee Jones carries it as few actors could. We follow everyline on his brow, search his expressive face for every emotion – he'sour best source of clues. Theron also gives a strong and understatedperformance. In some ways, she shoes how to fight blatant sexism evenbetter than in her towering High Country (although, as in that film,the message seemed laid on a little thick at times – is every cop inthat part of small town America really a chauvinist pig?) Then suddenlyour movie unravels. We realise it is not about what we thought it wasabout. By the time the mystery is solved, it doesn't really matter whokilled Mike. What matters is how Hank's ideas have been forced tochange.The film brings home far too many unpleasant truths to make it easilypopular in America. The style lacks the dramatic face-offs andplot-driven tensions of Haggis' earlier movie, Crash. It can easily beseized on as an anti-war film that will only appeal to the converted,when in fact its implications are much more wide-ranging. The slownessreminds me of Clint Eastwood's hand, under whose direction stories byHaggis like Million Dollar Baby and Flags of Our Fathers becameponderous yet successful. There are far too many moments for my tastewhere the camera lingers in close-up, for those 'Oscar worthy' shots.They are the antithesis of much European cinema, where the camera seemsinvisible.Finally there's the title. Which is either very clever or veryconfusing. In the Biblical story, Goliath is the heavily armed, strongwarrior. He maybe stands for overconfidence, arrogance, bullying. Davidis armed very simply. His main weapon is a simple sling. And he haslimitless courage. He kills Goliath with a single shot (David wins).One reading is if we take David as symbolising young American troops,their bravery and valour. Yet the story is questioned even by DetectiveSanders' son (who, unlike Hank, has not been raised with strongBiblical beliefs). Why would they send a boy? Or as Haggis says, "Whowould do that? Who would send a young man to fight a giant? This filmaddresses our responsibility in sending young men and women off towar…." The biblical story is a great allegory. The triumph of courageover arrogance and brute force. But how believable is it in practice?In reality, the giant would probably crush the boy like a fly. Withthis reading, we can suggest that the basic (Bible-based) premise, ofgoing to war against an aggressor armed with courage and righteousness,is fatally flawed. The Iraq invasion had too few troops. Itunderestimated the ferocity of the enemy. Belief in 'goodnesstriumphant' was not enough.A second reading might be to take America as Goliath. High techarmaments against what is often home-made bombs. Its belief is in itsown invincibility. Forever making threats (its critics may argue)against potential enemies. In this reading, David still doesn't win.Witness the child killed by the advancing truck and the dedication atthe end of the film.Yet another reading suggests how ill-equipped young soldiers are todeal with life when they come back home. They can no longer just send asling-shot against the forehead of an obvious attacker. Neither do theyascend the throne like King David. The emotional war is there. And thepsychological cost.Probably the most successful 'David' of the film is Charlize Theron'sdetective. Emily Sanders is a single mom who trying to survive,battling the odds, as well as heavy-handed sexism and prejudice atwork.When Hank tells Emily's young son (also called David) about David andGoliath as a bed-time story, he emphasises how you can use it to defeatmonsters. You call them up close, look them in the eye, then whack 'em.Young David, who usually likes the door open with some light coming into his room, lets Hank close the door. Hank casually takes this as ademonstration of the story's power. But a few minutes later David callsfor the door to be opened.

fifty_mm 2012-05-11 08:00:34

It's not about war, it's not about murder... it's about coping.

The movie uniquely dealt with the mechanism of coping with traumaticexperiences. True, it was a war pic. Yes, it had an additional "lookwhat we're doing to our kids" anti-war message (which was driven homein the scene where he's finally leaving his son's barracks and thisyoung, pimply faced kid starts settling in), and yes, it was a murdermystery, but the method in which Haggis portrays the differentbehaviors the characters exhibit while trying to deal with extremelystressful and traumatic experiences was the main point of the movie.Haggis drove the point home with careful camera techniques and craftingtrue-to-life characters. I like the way he kept the camera back at theend of the hallway when Mrs. Deerfield cried into her husband's armsafter viewing the mutilated body of her son. He employed a similarmethod when she broke down and started crying on the phone (Mr.Deerfield: "I'm not gonna sit on the phone and listen to you cry." Mrs.Deerfield: "Then don't") – Deakins has the camera up on the stairslooking directly down on her while she sits hunched over on the floor.It's not that Haggis is "hiding" these moments from the audience – Ibelieve that it is more of a commentary on our disconnection from ourown emotions during these moments.Additionally, Haggis has the actors restrain themselves during theheight of when one expects them to indicate the most suffering and whenthe camera is close enough to expose it, i.e. Mr. Deerfield seeing hismutilated son for the first time, also towards the end when he realizesthat his own rigid personality alienated his son from himself and Cpl.Penning's almost robotic, non-remorseful confession of murdering Spc.Deerfield – which was a phenomenal performance – are two good examples.You could see the mountain of emotion being suppressed behind his coldexterior. His confession was so level that it was hard for me to acceptthe fact that he had stabbed Pfc. Deerfield over 42 times, dismemberedhis body, then set fire to it. But this is exactly the point Haggis wastrying to make – this disconnection from reality; death as a video gamewith no consequences ("React or die. React or die.") By the way, Ithink Tommy Lee Jones did an amazing job as well. And that's anunderstatement.Further exposés on the aspects of coping include the side story of thesoldier who first held down his Doberman in the tub until it drownedand subsequently repeated that action with his wife instead. Spc.Bonner hanging himself for his involvement in the murder of Deerfield.Pvt. Ortiez's full denial of the fact that their squad ran over anIraqi child ("That wasn't no kid. That was a dog. As far as I'mconcerned, that was a dog. I don't know what that picture is."). Moreimportantly, Spc. Deerfield's own methods of coping served to act asthe catalyst for the plot. The one moment he had (and the only momentin the movie where tears are actually shown falling) where he tried toreach out to his father ("Dad, something happened. Can you get me outof here?"), he got snubbed. So his ability to cope manifested itselfinto destructive behavior: doing drugs, bad-mouthing the stripper,torturing the "Haji" militant, picking fights with his comrades –ultimately leading to his demise. All of these characters had theirdemons to deal with. The point of the movie was how to deal with thosemonsters. The title, itself, acting as a metaphor to that exactquestion. The Valley of Elah – where David took his stand againstGoliath – was where all the characters of this movie stood in theshadows of their own Goliaths. Some fought (Mrs. Deerfield, Det.Sanders), some stuck their heads in the sand (Ortiez, Mr. Deerfield),and some ran away (Penning, Bonner). Much like the tagline states:sometimes finding the truth is easier than facing it.I also thought the movie was unique in the angle it took on war: itspsychological impact. Excluding such crappy movies like, "Iron Eagles"and "Flight of the Intruder", good war movies have more than an"accomplishing-an-objective" plot type in mind. "Saving Private Ryan",although based entirely around an objective, used the multitude ofhorrors the characters encountered to highlight their methods ofdealing with it. I'd say this movie was more along the lines of "DeerHunter" or "Jarhead" – where what you see in war plays second fiddle tohow you deal with what you see in war.The only objection I had to the movie (a very moderate one) wasoriginated by my girlfriend, who served in Iraq – I hadn't thoughtabout it until she brought it up. True, the movie is a very small"slice of life" take on our involvement in Iraq (granted, PTSD is aMAJOR aspect of this war – but there are many other facets as well), soit's not entirely unjustified to have ALL the soldiers of this movie beso "f***ed up" from their wartime experiences. However, it would havebeen nice to see at least one soldier try to cope with his demons in amore constructive way – be it counseling or in some othernon-destructive method. When I visited my girlfriend in Germany, duringher leave, I came across pamphlets, brochures, and televisioncommercials (on the Armed Services Network) that encouraged infantrymen and women to seek counseling in helping deal with PTSD, acclimatingto life in the states again, returning to their families, and so forth.Nevertheless, personally, I don't feel that this is too critical of apoint to make – Haggis is trying to illustrate a specific notion of theeffects of war and shouldn't have to cater to any of the "exceptions tothe rule."

bandw 2012-05-03 19:59:41

Personalizes the Iraq war

Since the Pentagon and the Bush administration have implemented apolicy forbidding news organizations from showing images of the arrivalof Iraq war dead at military bases, and since the Iraq war is beingfought by volunteers and mercenaries, the war has remained almost aremote abstraction for most except those directly involved. This warhas not entered the national consciousness as did the Vietnam War. So,the value of a film such as "In the Valley of Elah," which relates thefact-based story of Army Spc. Mike Deerfield (who was murdered a fewdays after returning home from Iraq) is to bring to light the heavyprice some are paying for this war.When Mike's father Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) is informed that his son hasgone AWOL Hank goes to Mike's base to try to find out what is going on.Hank is a Vietnam veteran who had experience in crime investigation, sohe is well positioned to investigate his son's status. Not being tooimpressed with the official responses from neither the local homicidedetective (Charlize Theron) nor the military police (Jason Patric) Hankundertakes his own investigation, ultimately working with Theron. Themovie has aspects of a police procedural, but the emphasis is on thecircumstances that precipitated Mike's disappearance and the effectthat the gradual unraveling of the truth has on Hank and his wife. Wewitness some of Mike's war experiences (as seen through videos hecaptured on his cell phone) and come to understand some of the tragiceffects the war has had on Mike and his buddies.Jones turns in another fine performance. He plays Hank as a no-nonsenseguy who is brusque in his dealings with others. The power of hisperformance derives from his ability to express emotion through facialexpressions and body language. All wars are hell and this movie shows us one slice of the unique brandof hell that this war has spawned. Far from being critical of thesoldiers in the war this film makes us appreciate some of what they aredealing with and the effect it has on them.The movie's title refers to the valley where David met and slewGoliath. In the context of this movie I guess David is represented bythe young soldiers in Iraq, the valley of Elah is the country of Iraq,and Goliath is the collective monster that the soldiers are fighting.

peter-byrne 2012-05-03 04:47:21

War abroad dehumanizes, and human life is cheap for returning combatants.

The film shows that the present wars in the Middle East makes USsoldiers blur moral values. When on their return, nothing is done tohelp them refocus those values, their life-is-cheap attitude continues.It's not surprising that mainstream film critics would rather not knowabout this troubling situation. The main character, a Vietnam vet,realizes the country is in deep moral trouble and in need of help.That's why he raises the flag wrong side up. Haggis makes this hardmessage more palatable by, at the very end, suggesting that the soldiermurdered by his buddies had serious qualms about what went on in thewar. But one of the murderers,in a chilling line, sees the dead man asno better than himself. He says something like: If I were down on theground, he would have stabbed me.

2012-04-29 06:16:31

Valley of Elah best film of year! Worthy of the Academy Awards

An extremely well acted and well thought out film that was the best movie I have seen in then last 15 months. Why this film had not received any Academy Awards is beyond me.

akovacs-2 2012-04-28 19:57:20

Powerful and moving. Not at all what I imagined.

The film starts with impassive Vietnam Vet and ex-MP Jones leaving hometo find out why his son, recently arrived back from Iraq, has goneAWOL. As he leaves town he notices an upside down stars and stripesflying in some public building. He stops to correct it, innocuouslytelling the El Salvadorian caretaker that flying the flag upside downis an international distress signal meaning; "We're in a whole lot oftrouble, so come save our asses, cos we haven't got a hope in hell ofdoing it ourselves." The film rolls on as a slow, but never boring, who-dunnit when thecharred, dismembered remains of Jones' son are found near the armybase. Jones, a devoted, grieving and patriotic father (now having lostboth his sons) is accompanied by small-town detective Theron andapparently thwarted by an incompetent police department and indifferentmilitary, as he does his best to investigate the murder and honour hissons memory.As the film flows, decoded video clips on a damaged mobile phone showus the life Jones' son and his colleagues led in Iraq and, scene byscene - a child run over by a Humvee, charred Iraqi civilians withsuspiciously unburnt clothes, a wounded suspect tormented by Jones' ownson - the film darkens to the point that, as Jones and Theron finallyunravel the mystery, the circumstances surrounding, and theimplications of, the murder are so depressing that the identity of thekiller no longer seems important, not to the viewer, the killer noreven the grieving father.The film closes with a choking final scene. Jones takes a stars andstripes, mailed to him - neatly folded, as if for a funeral - from Iraqby his son, back to the El Salvadorian caretaker. He raises it, tapingthe ropes to the pole and when the caretaker asks, "Should I take itdown at night?", Jones replies, "No, leave it just like that." As thecredits roll and the camera pans backwards we see a dirty, ragged flagfluttering in the breeze, upside down.

2012-04-26 05:00:16

"They shouldn't send heroes to places like Iraq..."

When Hank Deerfield's son goes missing upon his return from Iraq, he decides to investigate for himself. What he discovers, though, takes him on a whirlwind emotional journey. It's an excursion into the heart of humanity--what makes a hero different from you and me, and what makes you and me different from everybody else.Tommy Lee Jones is spectacular. Plain and simple. Watch this movie, if you have any doubt about the quality of his performance. Jones had two great movie roles in 2007 (the other being "No Country For Old Men," and half the cast of that movie is in this one). It's a shame he didn't win Best Actor for this...but oh well. We can watch the movie and enjoy it--or "enjoy" it. You'll have your heart ripped out of your chest; I'm not sure I'd call that "enjoyable."The supporting roles, too, are very well-performed. Charlize Theron is a bit too sexy for her role, but we'll forgive her; she chews her way through it like it was nothing. James Franco, Jason Patric, and Josh Brolin make the best of their minor roles. Susan Sarandon is a wonder; she's upstaged at every turn, of course, but that isn't her fault; her role isn't big enough for her to milk to its full potential."In the Valley of Elah" is not an easy movie to watch; it's an emotional rollercoaster that leaves you breathless, aching, empty. But it is a movie you SHOULD watch. It is thought-provoking cinema that may leave you uncomfortable, but you'll walk away a better person for it.

MrGKB 2012-04-25 18:42:46

I'm a little perplexed by this one...

...in that, for once, I'm not really sure what to say about it. Is itworth seeing? Yes. Tommy Lee "Look it up" Jones delivers a performancethat is indeed Oscar-worthy, well supported by the likes of Charlize"Monster" Theron, Susan "Joe" Sarandon, Jason "The Lost Boys" Patric,and a host of lesser-knowns. The plot, based (apparently) on a truestory, centers on a father's search for his AWOL son, who ends uphaving been murdered (I won't say by whom), essentially boiling down toa crime procedural which makes a number of pointed observations aboutthe Iraq experience and its effects on our young soldiers along theway. Is it heavy-handed, as some have said? To some degree, yes; I'mthinking of an early sequence in which Jones' character corrects anobviously Hispanic immigrant on the proper care and handling of theU.S. flag, and another one in which Jones is in a heavily populatedrehab unit for amputee casualties from the war. Still, the theme of thefilm isn't so much political as it is socio-cultural, and much of it ishandled subtly enough to avoid in-your-face polemics.All the ingredients are there for a good film: great production values,evocative music by Mark "The Beast (of War)" Isham, and superb work byDP Roger "No Country For Old Men" Deakins, along with an intelligentscript and nuanced direction by auteur Paul "Crash" Haggis. I'm justnot entirely sure that the sum of the parts equals the whole, as I wasleft with a nagging "is that all there is?" feeling when the creditsrolled. But, I can't say it was a waste of my time, even if I know I'lllikely never watch the thing again. I can only be thankful it was alibrary find, though your mileage may vary considerably.