His first weekend back from Iraq, Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) has gone missing. His military veteran father Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) didn’t even know he was back, but that still doesn’t stop him from giving wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) and heading out in his old pickup truck on the two-day trip to the base to see if he can find him.

Charlize Theron and Tommy Lee Jones in Warner Independent's In the Valley of Elah

Enlisting the help of embattled (and embittered) police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), the couple soon start to come to the horrific conclusion Mike might have been the victim of some seriously brutal foul play. With the military constantly interfering and trying to claim they have jurisdiction, Mike does not give hope of finding justice for his son. But when the truth of what happened in Iraq begins to come out, this hardcore military man’s world is shaken to the core, the answers to his questions more earth shattering to his beliefs then he ever could have imagined.

Paul Haggis’ directorial follow-up In the Valley of Elah to his Academy Award-winning Crash is a much better motion picture. Don’t get me wrong, I liked his previous effort, liked it one heck of a lot, but this one resonates far deeper, longer and more completely then that multi-character melodrama ever did. Every time I start to think of this film I begin to tear up, certain scenes, moments and bits cemented into my memory for what I am sure is the far flung future. The acting is stellar, Jones, Theron, Sarandon, Jason Patric, Frances Fisher and Mehcad Brooks delivering some of the finest performances I’ll see all year.

Red State, Blue State, All States, this movie offers food for thought no matter what your political persuasion. For the most part, Haggis keeps his strong liberal tendencies and viewpoints to himself letting the material (based on true events) to plainly speak for themselves. This is a film about aftermath, a story about what happens after the bullets have fired and the warriors have fought their enemies. It is about the cost of doing what’s right when the mission and message are unclear. It is about taking orders, following them and then having to live with the consequences once you’re finished.

This isn’t going to work for everyone, especially for those of us who have had (or still have) family stationed in the desolate deserts of the Middle East and doing all we can to support them. The film isn’t exactly anti-military (the soldiers if anything are depicted as heroic figures destroyed by an unjust conflict) but it doesn’t exactly rally folks to the flag, either. For some, this is going to be a far too ugly a wakeup call, seeing the effects of the quagmire a hawkish political administration sent our loved ones into going to be too much for many viewers out there to bear.

And that’s okay. Film, at its finest, should provide just these kinds of moments, these kinds of sentiments. It should have the guts to discuss and dissect the events of the time, the ability to debate the merits of what is going on in society today. Haggis does this openly and with passionate discourse, the film burrowing deep to the heart of the matter and then forcing audiences to linger there while still allowing them to come up with their own answers to all of the questions. 

Some will not come to the same conclusions Hank does, his final actions offensive and off-putting to them even considering the horrific losses he and his wife have suffered. Many will, however, and they will agree that there is a crisis going on in the United States and that, as a country and as a people, we do need help. What exactly that is, of course, is up to all of us, and isn’t a thing that’s going to be decided for probably quite some time. But Haggis does a grandly eloquent job of starting the discussion, In the Valley of Elah a timely elegy of regret and pain that honors the fallen, salutes the serving and openly prays for their safe return. In short, it is a masterpiece, and for the life of me I can’t think of anyone who shouldn’t see it.

Film Rating:  êêê1/2  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  In the Valley of Elah Theatrical Trailer