In the Valley of Elah rises and falls on the strength of Tommy Lee Jones' performance, which is to say that it rises to great heights, indeed.
Comment
09/20/07
In the Valley of Elah (2007)
72
%
Tomatometer
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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:25-01-2008
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
Reviews for In the Valley of Elah
You can literally read on Jones' face. All of which makes certain genre devices intrinsic to the murder mystery aspect of the story seem trivial and anticlimactic by comparison.
09/20/07
There's much to admire here: a continually surprising storyline, an aversion to cliché, a gallery of characters who are neither stock heroes nor cardboard villains, and a flawless cast.
09/20/07
Sure, it's good and everything, but you can almost hear Academy members sharpening their ballot pencils in anticipation. Start engraving those trophies now.
09/20/07
Where 'Crash' was full of contrivances and coincidences, Elah is honest, raw, and real.
09/20/07
Elah uses a slightly plodding police procedural format as an opening to a discussion about the effect the war is having on returning soldiers. It's a lot to ask of one movie.
09/20/07
In the Valley of Elah is so majestic in its themes and searing in execution, it's hard to imagine Haggis won't figure prominently in the Oscar race once again.
09/20/07
In the Valley of Elah is the first great movie about the stateside aftermath of the Iraq War and should be considered a companion piece to Hal Ashby’s post-Vietnam opus Coming Home.
09/20/07
The haunting, heart-piercing Elah isn't perfect. It's something better: essential.
09/20/07
Tommy Lee Jones astonishes with a silent, agonizing pain you will feel and not easily forget.
09/18/07
The performances are amazing here.
09/18/07
A fierce performance by Tommy Lee Jones as a father searching for his son, AWOL after returning from Iraq, anchors this flawed but important film from flawed but important writer-director Paul Haggis.
09/18/07
Haggis has taken a simple biblical tale and grafted it onto the complexities of the modern world.
09/18/07
Haggis has put together a masterful work here ---- it is not to be missed!
09/17/07
Haggis has an extraordinary knack for choosing themes which are controversial and relevant, and then getting his actors to maximize their skills. This may yet be the best film of the year.
09/17/07
This is a sad, subtle and very good movie, designed not so much to make you think, but to make you feel the impact of large events on little lives.
09/17/07
Top Critic[Jones] gives a great, selfless, and heartbreaking performance that completely dominates this elusive but powerful movie.
09/17/07
Intended as an anti-war polemic that war is dehumanizing. Well, Duh! Even so, this is an entertaining film diminished by the disappointing ending making the message.
09/16/07
A penetrating, lacerating, angry-as-hell condemnation against the incalculably devastating cost of war as it pertains to both those fighting in it and those consequently affected by it back home.
09/16/07
This is undeniably a haunting movie. But don't let that scare you off. The ending, and all that leads up to it, will leave viewers devastated but deeply moved.
09/15/07
Latest 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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