In the Valley of Elah
By John • Feb 19th, 2008 • Category: 3 Stars, Crime, Drama, ThrillerI am not a big fan of writer/director Paul Haggis, his Crash was the most overrated movie of that year’s Oscars. So I didn’t expect much from this new movie. Luckily I had a good time.
This is mainly a crime/mystery drama, where Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) is trying to find his son back from Iraq. We follow him investigating his disappearance, with the help of Det. Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron). This part is ok, not particularly clever or interesting, but it was well done.
In between we also see videos of his son in Iraq, we are hinted at something terrible that happened to him, which may be the cause of his disappearance. The son’s colleagues in the army are all involved, but we don’t find out what really happened until the end.
The subplot about Sanders is really underdeveloped. Many of her scenes do not have a point or don’t bring to anything in the end, like her sexists colleagues, or her boss. There is also a couple of scenes involving one of her side cases that really didn’t belong in this movie, it was just a cheap way of making the character emotional.
What I did like was Tommy Lee Jones. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors and 2007 was a great year for him. I believe he is the main reason I enjoyed this movie despite its many flaws.
Haggis is famous for overemphasizing his “message”, as if he were afraid that we don’t get it and he has to bludgeon us over our heads. That’s what happens at the end. We get it!! War is bad!!
In spite of my dislike of Haggis, I still recommend this film.
Rating: 3 Stars
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