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11th Hour, The Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies. |
In the Valley of Elah
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MPAA RATING: R for violent and disturbing content, language and some sexuality/nudity
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, Charlize Theron, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Jason Patric, and Frances Fisher
In the Valley of Elah tells the story of a war veteran, his wife and the search for their son, a soldier who recently returned from Iraq but has mysteriously gone missing, as well as the police detective who helps in the investigation. (Warner Independent Pictures)
| GENRE(S): | Drama | Suspense/Thriller | War |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Mark Boal (story)
Paul Haggis (& story) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Paul Haggis |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 19, 2008 Theatrical: September 14, 2007 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 114 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 39 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Moe H. gave it a0:
I saw this in the cinema, and i almost died mid-way through, i left near the end of the movie, it was mind numbingly boring, all the way through. The actors barely say anything during the whole thing, nothing intresting happens, just remains the same, the whole time.
Peter K. gave it a10:
This movie deserves an 11. Most people miss the elemental power of Tommy Lee Jones's smoldering performance and the depth of dramatic irony the writing has instilled in the part of Hank Deerfield, a father unraveling the horrific and mesmerizing truths of his son's disappearance which rivals anything that Sophocles did 2,500 years ago. This film, largely ignored by all but the critics, is one of the best to come out in decades.
Kevin M. gave it a4:
I enjoyed the movie and understand the challenges our troops face when returning from a war zone. How dare the makers of this movie determine that this country is in distress. There are thousands of proud soldiers who come home and lead perfect lives. You could have hit a home run if the flag would have been raised and flown right side up. Instead you mock our country and what our flag stands for and the millions of lives lost so that you could end what was a good movie into a total bust. I am taking the movie back today as I will not own a movie that makes a statement like that.
Lance D. gave it a2:
Intriguing yet disappointing. Haggis did not explore Tommy Jones realization that his "good boy" son had morphed into a man performing unspeakable deeds while serving in an Army which he had influenced his son to join. The ending with the flag and the school janitor made me LOL so hard. It was so indignant and ungrateful to our troops and country. I have completely lost hope for Hollywood drama movies. If they cannot realize that the problem is the PRODUCT and not the buyers for the slumping movie industry than they are truly disconnected and have a mental disease. Enough with the Anti-America, Anti-War, Anti-Republican movies. We get it, Hollywood is overflowing with liberals.
Chad S. gave it an8:
Hank Deerfield(Tommy Lee Jones) is an analog man living in a digital world. He looks like a figure in an Edward Hopper painting as he stands at the copy machine. The truck Hank drives could've been an object parked out of frame in Hopper's signature work "Nighthawks", an oil on canvas, typical of the cinema-minded artist's obsession with people in relationship to their environment. Hank tries. He can operate a computer. But the immodesty of our times often leaves him at a loss for words(e.g. the topless waitress, a septugenarian like him, at the diner bar). Time doesn't stand still, especially at an army base, even though the protocol, the haircuts, and the congeniality of the GIs remain the sam. Looks, however, can be deceiving; as they say, you can't judge a book by its cover. Hank will come to learn that C.S. Lewis might be more knowable than his own flesh and blood. There are crashes, the same racial crashes between Whites and Hispanics like in "Crash", but it's the generational crash between the Iraqi war veterans and veterans from our fathers' wars that distinguishes "In the Valley of Elah" from this filmmaker's last hurrah. An interpretation of the vivisected body that's discovered in the field could be construed as the analogue version of the soldier's digital form being pixelated to death by the unforgiving Iraqi sun. Mike's body(and soul; because of his inhumane treatment towards the enemy) seems to be literally coming apart on his father's laptop. Hank can hardly recognize his own son. Because he's an analog man living in a digital world. Hank Deerfield is the anti-"Walker: Texas Ranger".
Norm D. gave it an8:
worth high marks just for willingness to show somewhat realistic, morally compromised, yet sympathetic characters.
Christian P. gave it a7:
I really enjoyed this movie while I watched it, but in the end I was left unfulfilled...or was it too filled?? Haggis could have made the end more ambiguous and left us hanging more, but -- just like he did in Crash, he tries to make us believe something, or feel something, or think something. He tries too hard to move his audience in a certain way. This could have been a "10" but loses its steam in the end. Jones is fantastic. Also, if you write this off as being "anti-American," you are lazy. Heavy-handed? Yes. Anti-American? Not by a long shot.
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