In the Valley of Elah (2007)

Director:

Paul Haggis

Writers (WGA):

Paul Haggis (screenplay)
Mark Boal (story) ...

Release Date:

28 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes finding the truth is easier than facing it.

Plot:

A career officer and his wife work with a police detective to uncover the truth behind their son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Plot Keywords:

Ethnic Slur | Credit Card | Military Officer | Driver | American Flag

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Hank Deerfield
Charlize Theron	...	Det. Emily Sanders
Jason Patric	...	Lt. Kirklander
Susan Sarandon	...	Joan Deerfield
James Franco	...	Sgt. Dan Carnelli
Barry Corbin	...	Arnold Bickman
Josh Brolin	...	Chief Buchwald
Frances Fisher	...	Evie
Wes Chatham	...	Corporal Steve Penning
Jake McLaughlin	...	Spc. Gordon Bonner
Mehcad Brooks	...	Spc. Ennis Long
Jonathan Tucker	...	Mike Deerfield
Wayne Duvall	...	Detective Nugent
Victor Wolf	...	Private Robert Ortiez
Brent Briscoe	...	Detective Hodge

Also Known As:

Death and Dishonor (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and disturbing content, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA | South Korea:15 | Austria:16 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:16 | France:Unrated (with warning) | Japan:PG-12 | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Denmark:11 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A | UK:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Blackfriars Bridge Films

Trivia:

Originally a potential starring vehicle for Clint Eastwood.

Goofs:

Continuity: If you follow closely Det. Emily Sanders' car plate, one scene shows the plate, another does not and so on.

Quotes:

Hank Deerfield: Goliath challenged the Israelite army to send their best man down to fight him, but no one would go down to fight him.
David Sanders: Why didn't they shoot him with arrows?
Hank Deerfield: That wouldn't have been fair.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-09-15)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Lost

Why do most critics attack this film for being heavy-handed?

Only Roger Ebert and the reviewer for Rolling Stone seem to see the truth here: this film is slow and elegiac because it deals with heavy matters, but it is never boring, not if you understand the situation and the depth of feelings being explored. It's as if reviewers don't get it because they didn't really feel what the film is saying. Saying that there have been dozens of films about how war ruins men so it's a cliché, and that this one is too dreary and slow means that a person has stopped feeling for what is really hurtful, is even in denial. And that's the theme of this film: what happens when we lose touch with what's painful and don't care any more. The film is restrained but powerful, which is why it has such a strong effect.

Jones is wonderfully grim, with a face like a road map, as he explores what happened to his son. Charlize Theron is beautiful even though she is playing a woman who is forced to act as non-sexy as possible to get on in her job in a male police force. Susan Sarandon is not, as some critic said, "underused"; she gives a performance that is all the more powerful because it is restrained. This movie should be a must see for all who believe that the Iraq war should continue until there is an honorable time for America to leave. That time is already passed.