In the Valley of Elah

Name: In the Valley of Elah
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Released: September 14, 2007
Duration: 121 min
Rating: 65
Cast: Charlize Theron, Jonathan Tucker, Tommy Lee Jones

2007

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 78 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 78 Ratings

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IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

Movie Details & Credits

Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) | Release Date: September 14, 2007

Starring: Charlize Theron, Jonathan Tucker, Tommy Lee Jones

Summary: 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)

Director: Paul Haggis

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 121 min

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Awards & Rankings

49	#49 Most Shared Movie of 2007

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Critic Reviews

100

Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman

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. Read full review

Chicago Tribune - Michael Phillips

Tommy Lee Jones is marvelous in the film. He has one scene in particular, a simple two-person encounter, that's as good as it gets in the realm of American screen acting. Read full review

The New Yorker - David Denby

No one could mistake the movie for a documentary, but the picture has some of the rectitude of a good documentary--a tone of plainness without flatness. Read full review

Newsweek - David Ansen

It's the casting of Iraq vet and non-professional Jake McLaughlin as Specialist Bonner, who fought alongside Deerfield's son in Iraq, that strikes a deeper emotional chord. His scenes with Jones, fraught with a complicated mix of bitterness, concern and guilt, are the best things in the movie. Read full review

Charlotte Observer - Lawrence Toppman

Journalists have a saying for someone who neglects or downplays the most important part of a news story: He buried the lead. That's what Paul Haggis does with "In the Valley of Elah," which submerges two important storylines beneath a pointless, unsatisfying whodunit. Read full review

Boston Globe - Wesley Morris

Paul Haggis switches from the problem of racism to the problem of Iraq. The war is a better fit. None of the exasperating guilt on display in "Crash" has made it into In the Valley of Elah, a solidly made genre movie: the Army mystery. Read full review

Washington Post - Stephen Hunter

Haggis also appears to have no respect for his audience. At its crudest, the film settles for agitprop...it's no Hollywood guy's call, particularly as he's extrapolating from a single case that could have occurred anywhere, at any time. Read full review

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User Reviews

Damjk

Nov 11, 2013

This is a seriously thought provoking movie. Some people will hate it because they actually NEED to live in nationalistic illusions. But for those who have eyes willing to see, and ears willing to hear, this movie asks us to really think about war... what we do to the children (ours andThis is a seriously thought provoking movie. Some people will hate it because they actually NEED to live in nationalistic illusions. But for those who have eyes willing to see, and ears willing to hear, this movie asks us to really think about war... what we do to the children (ours and theirs), what we are complicit in, and what we normally refuse to see, despite the mounting statistics on effects on our returning soldiers. This movie was a real wake up call, with superb acting, writing and directing... it is for grown-ups, though.… Expand

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PeterK.

Mar 12, 2008

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 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.… Expand