In the Valley of Elah

Finally dragged my ass to the see this. I knew In the Valley of Elah would be worth the effort and it still was able to exceed my expectations. It was going to be very difficult for Paul Haggis to follow-up Crash and yet he delivered a film that I liked even more than the Oscar winner. This was a very well made and well-acted murder investigation using the Iraqi war as the backdrop.

When comparing In the Valley of Elah and Crash, one of the best improvements for my tastes was that there was one storyline. Instead of having to take notes in order to keep track of all the characters, this is a Tommy Lee Jones movie. All of the other characters revolved around Jones’ investigation. The story of who murdered Mike Deerfield is very well done and kept me guessing right along with Jones and Theron. It did help that this movie was telling a story that was as much about the condition of the soldiers that come back from Iraq, as it was a whodunit. Even with the heavy topic, In the Valley of Elah never felt like it was preaching to the viewer. It was able to make all of its points through the murder investigation. By the end of film, you may know who killed Mike but that knowledge doesn’t make you feel anything approaching well.

Tommy Lee Jones is someone that when I look at all of his movies, there are just not enough films of the quality of In the Valley of Elah. He is such a good actor but there are just as many Volcanos as there are The Fugitives. Well now In the Valley of Elah gets to take its place near the top of his resume. He is the center of the whole movie and delivers in each and every scene. Jones is note-perfect as the career military policeman who uses every tactic in his arsenal in order to find out who killed his son. There is this matter-of-factness to his entire investigation that shows how important this is for his grieving process. Most of his investigation is done in tandem with a local detective played by Charlize Theron. Is this really the first Charlize Theron movie sighting since Aeon Flux? It makes sense since it has taken me nearly 2 years to get over that abomination myself. Anyways, this was a great performance by Theron. Of all the ridiculously hot actresses working today, she probably as the most talent or maybe I have a thing for females detectives in pantsuits. That could also explain how much I like Dexter's sister in Dexter. The rest of the cast also gets the job done. Susan Sarandon does what she can in her few scenes as Jones’ wife. Jason Patric is fun as the MP who is not exactly helping Jones and Theron. And freaking Josh Brolin is excellent again even though he has about 3 scenes. He is in the middle of the best year of his career and yes that includes 1985 and The Goonies. First Planet Terror, now In the Valley of Elah, plus he still has American Gangster and No Country for Old Men to go.

I may not have looked forward to In the Valley of Elah like other movies this fall, but it still delivered the goods. It is always good to see Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron in something worthwhile. This was a fantastic movie that was able to rise above the glut of movies about the Middle East that seem to be showing up over and over now.

9 out of 10