Quin GootIN THE VALLEY OF ELAH...opinion
March 15th 2008 11:46
Paul Haggis won the academy award in 2004 for 'Crash' which was his directorial debut. While it was a very good film it was not a worthy winner of that award (brokeback mountain?). Apart from all that though, it was a very promising debut. This is his second film and it's a good one at that.
And as good as it is, its hard to decide what kind of film it is. I decided it was a good ole murder mystery as well as a simple family drama (a tragic one) and a film about the horrors of war. Sounds complex I know but bear with me.
Essentially it's the story of a young soldier who returns from Iraq and goes missing. His father, played brilliantly by Tommy Lee Jones, goes to the town where his army base is to try to find out whats become off him. What follows is a good story involving army cover ups, police investigations, drug trafficking, murder and suicide. And without giving anything away it all comes together, with one or two hiccups, pretty well.
While this doesen't sound too riveting, thats because it wouldn't be without a superb performance by Tommy Lee Jones. Jones pretty much uses the same acting canvas for all his rolls, you know, stoic, gruff, hard as granite, don't fuck with me boy. And he uses it here to good affect as a retired army Sergeant. But its the moments in the film where you look beyond that at his face and eyes and see his heart breaking (I can't believe I just wrote that). There are moments where he should break down in hysterics but can't and you can't help but feel the pain. Its great acting. He's well supported by Susan Sarandon as his wife who doesn't have much screen time but is very affecting, especially in her phone conversations with her husband. Charlize Theron as the local detective who helps in the investigation is also good. Its an unglamerous role but she again proves she's one of the best actresses out there. Jason Patric does what he can in a roll thats difficult to get anything from.
As a comment on the the horrors of war this film had two scene's towards the end which brought it home more than any battle scene could. One is a young soldier telling how they tortured a captive and how funny they found it. The other which involved a child playing in the street will stick with me for a long time.
All in all a very good film. Do yourself a favour.
8/10
And as good as it is, its hard to decide what kind of film it is. I decided it was a good ole murder mystery as well as a simple family drama (a tragic one) and a film about the horrors of war. Sounds complex I know but bear with me.
Essentially it's the story of a young soldier who returns from Iraq and goes missing. His father, played brilliantly by Tommy Lee Jones, goes to the town where his army base is to try to find out whats become off him. What follows is a good story involving army cover ups, police investigations, drug trafficking, murder and suicide. And without giving anything away it all comes together, with one or two hiccups, pretty well.
All in all a very good film. Do yourself a favour.
8/10
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Comment by jon
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Thanks,
Jon.