It is so patriotic as to be a radical example of dramaturgy. On top of that, it is executed to perfection.
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09/10/07
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In the Valley of Elah (2007)
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Reviews Counted:150
Fresh:108
Rotten:42
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Though some of Paul Haggis's themes are heavy-handed, In the Valley of Elah is otherwise an engrossing murder mystery and antiwar statement, featuring a mesmerizing performance from Tommy Lee Jones.
Theatrical Release:Sep 28, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $6,585,535
Synopsis: Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank Deerfield, a retired military man investigating the mysterious disappearance of his soldier son, Mike, in this somber mystery-drama from director Paul Haggis (CRASH).... [More]
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Frances Fisher, Susan Sarandon
Director: Paul Haggis
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Reviews for In the Valley of Elah
Paul Haggis’s In the Valley of Elah is vital in spite of its mustiness.
09/10/07
Top CriticIt feels like a movie in search of prestige, not truth.
09/10/07
Top CriticTackles its Iraq War subject matter with such sledgehammer clumsiness that it risks giving viewers blunt head trauma.
09/09/07
Intelligent, absorbing, and exceedingly well-acted.
09/09/07
Grueling truths more intimated than spelled out, touching on the battle scars turning normal young men into unimaginable monsters.
09/09/07
A namby-pamby tirade against the war in Iraq, In the Valley of Elah is a Canadian's Sydney Pollack-inspired drag revue.
09/09/07
The combination of dedicated actors and a superior script helps make Elah a far more satisfying film than Crash.
09/06/07
Top CriticLike Crash, Haggis' follow-up shows he's a better writer than helmer, though new film, about the impact of Iraq on both soldiers and their families, is ambitious in scope, timely in issues, and superb in acting, even when it drags and ultimately faulters
09/06/07
In the Valley of Elah doesn't actually say "Bring the boys home"; it mostly tells us how much Paul Haggis would like to take home another Oscar.
09/05/07
It's the first Hollywood Iraq movie to remind me of a Vietnam film like Coming Home, and it does more than disturb. It scalds, moves, and heals.
09/05/07
Top CriticIn the Valley of Elah David slew Goliath and Canadian director Paul Haggis tries to slay the US myth on the Good War in Iraq, though David was certainly more successful than Paul.
09/02/07
Haggis, with an exemplary cast, explores shadowy secrets of men in the ranks with a determined brush, tipped with heart-piercing irony.
09/01/07
Another eloquent, sobering assessment of the State of the Union from the director of Crash.
08/30/07
Top CriticPaul Haggis'follow-up to Crash is too self-serious to work as a straight-ahead whodunit and too lacking in imagination to realize its art-film aspirations.
08/30/07
Top CriticLatest News for In the Valley of Elah
February 18, 2008:
RT on DVD: Cram For The Oscars With Michael Clayton, In The Valley of Elah, And More Out This Week
Ready those Oscar ballots! With the Academy Awards around the corner, it's time to start catching up on what you missed in theaters. Snap up this week's offerings for... More...
January 24, 2008:
Director Paul Haggis on In the Valley of Elah: The RT Interview
We sit down with the Crash director and Bond scribe to find out more about his political latest, In the Valley of Elah. More...
January 10, 2008:
Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear Join Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon in the Green Zone
"Making a movie about the war in Iraq" is quickly turning into just another way of saying "losing tons of money at the box office," but director Paul Greengrass isn't letting... More...
December 14, 2007:
Atonement, Control Lead London Film Critics Noms
The London Critics Circle has announced the nominees for its year-end awards, with Anton Corbijn's Control and Joe Wright's Atonement leading the pack at eight nominations apiece. More...
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