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| In the Valley of Elah | 
 enlarge | Actors: Josh Brolin, Barry Corbin, Wayne Duvall, Frances Fisher, Tommy Lee Jones
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $4.59
You Save: $15.39 (77%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $2.77
Avg. Customer Rating:  (94 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3065
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 121 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: WARD117627D
UPC: 085391176275
EAN: 0085391176275
ASIN: B0011V7PSC
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
In the Valley of Elah Movie Review February 26, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Unparalleled performances, a wickedly thought-provoking story, and masterly direction by "Crash" director Paul Haggis skyrocket "In the Valley of Elah" to the top of the list of best films of the year. While the story builds slowly, the payoff is intense and brilliantly troubling, and demands repeat viewings. Many will walk away from this film with contrasting interpretations of the conspiratorial nature of the army and the detrimental effect war has on human lives, but everyone will undoubtedly leave entertained.
Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) makes a trip to an army base in search of his son Mike, who is reported as having gone missing. Shortly after his arrival, badly burned body parts are discovered in a field near a gun shop and they are identified as being the remains of Mike. Heartbroken and angry, Hank sets out to discover the heavily guarded truths behind his son's death and those responsible for this heinous crime. Along the way, Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), a local cop taking pity on Deerfield's situation, takes extra measures to ensure that the truth is uncovered.
A deceptively simple murder mystery, In the Valley of Elah uncovers the plot behind a vicious murder that entwines the U.S. Army and a neighboring town. Essentially a vehicle for Haggis to comment on the chaos of the Iraqi War, the mixture of crime, drama, suspense and action make this both an engaging and thought-provoking exercise in filmmaking. The film builds very slowly, but it's careful to introduce just enough new elements in each scene that the plot thickens with masterful precision. Occasionally the pacing is off, with the introduction of unnecessary elements that could have been cut to speed up the progression, but the time spent on developing characters is largely appropriate.
Tommy Lee Jones fleshes out a deep, complex character that lives by a strict sense of honor, influenced heavily by the discipline of the Army for which he served as a sergeant for many years. He is anxious to correct those who are ignorant about the importance of patriotism, such as preventing a U.S. flag from touching the ground and absolutely not raising it upside down, which symbolizes a state of disorder and disarray. Yet as he uncovers more about the tragic death of his son and breaks several laws to seek truths and vengeance, he begins to wizen to the corrupted clockwork of the Army and its intense defense of image and members. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, Tommy Lee Jones delivers one of the best performances of his career.
Charlize Theron's Emily is tough and stern and battles discrimination and prejudice within the police force because she is a woman. Her determination and stubbornness rival that of Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling (from The Silence of the Lambs), and her performance is equally Oscar worthy. Aiding Hank in his mission of justice, she takes hints from his uncanny intelligence, as well as uncovering key clues that draw the shocking conclusion closer. A true hero who isn't afraid to partake in action, including chasing suspects through grungy dark alleys, Theron's character is also fully developed with a wide range of emotions and complexity to match Jones.
Susan Sarandon's supporting performance as the strong but concerned mother of Mike is powerful and tear-inducing and was sadly forgotten for the 2008 Oscars. Other supporting cast including Frances Fisher, Josh Brolin and the many soldiers involved in the conspiracy, deliver emotional and striking performances that demand the spotlight.
The nature of murder mysteries is to build to an unforgettable and unpredictable conclusion, and it accomplishes the detailed setup to the satisfyingly alarming finale quite well. With the intensity of The Silence of the Lambs and an equally baffling title for anyone unfamiliar with the Biblical reference, In the Valley of Elah was one of the first Oscar-worthy films of 2007, and an excellent follow-up to Paul Haggis' critically and commercially acclaimed "Crash".
- Mike Massie
 3.5; Good message but not much of a film... February 25, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
While I will excuse "Chicago" for winning Best Picture since it was at least a little fun, I thought "Crash" was one of the worst Best Picture winners in many years. With its overwrought, simplistic approach and lack of any real character development, the film might as well just had characters say "racism is bad" every 10 minutes. "In the Valley of Elah", Paul Haggis' directorial followup, one can say that he's getting a bit better and even improving in key areas but he falls back on the simple tricks and story conceits that plagued all throughout Crash. It's a good film and I like what it's about, I just don't like the way we get it.
Hank Deerfield is a former Vietnam veteran with a very strong view that the US needs the Military and that none of its uses or personnel are at fault for anything. His son, Mike, who returns from Iraq, is listed as AWOL and Hank tries to find him. Instead of just finding a soldier cutting loose and having fun becomes a bit more as mysteries need to be solved and truths have to be revealed, even if they are truths you didn't even think were possible.
One thing that drove me nuts in "Crash", as well as most of Haggis' scripts, is that rather than let the audience figure something out for themselves, the film will not only do it for you but will do it frequently in case you missed it the first time. While Elah isn't as bad, it does end up slipping back into his old routine of having overt symbolism such as its title, taken from the Bible where David met Goliath, which is recounted twice. Could David be the hardworking, tax-paying citizens and Goliath is the government? Or the military? Or the evildoers? Granted it at least allows a story to breathe this time but with things like the Biblical story, as well as its closing shot which is as overt as anything, it's still a small nag.
The film's story itself is interesting and there's a couple interesting tidbits or trivia such as car colors or the upside down flag that I didn't know before but one of the things basically required in a mystery is a drive, a sense of propulsion that makes us ache to see how it would unfold. While the idea of the story is interesting, it's how it was presented that bugged me and the film just sort of....was for the entire film, never really becoming exciting or intriguing. Thank god for Tommy Lee Jones though who brings out another great performance as Hank who says more with his eyes than some shouted "look at me Oscars, I'm yelling!" speech. The others are good like Charlize Theron who does another non-glam role and while underutilized, we do get James Franco and Susan Sarandon as well as 2007's comeback kid Josh Brolin who appeared in no less than 4 big movies (this, American Gangster, No Country for Old Men and Grindhouse).
It's hard recommending a movie like this to someone since you like it but then you're like "yeah but it does this and it always does that..." but I'd recommend it and you'd probably love it...I just merely like it.
 A truely dishonest portrayal of the war February 25, 2008
10 out of 33 found this review helpful
This movie depicts our returning servicemen as murderous, torturing, drug addicts (the military drug tests all the time) to a man. Then tells us a patriotic former Vietnam Vet, who still makes up his motel bed with hospital corners and spit shines his shoes, ends up dishonoring his country by flying an Iraq battle flag his son fought under, upside down as an international sign of distress at a public building. I understand the right to free speech. Conning moviegoers into paying to hear such dishonest trash is another matter. I want my money back!
 Amazing film... February 24, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This movie was outstanding. It portrays the negative sides of war that exist way beyond the battlefield. The acting was flawless, Tommy Lee Jones was superb. Unless you have served in the military (I have not), no one really knows what the troops go through. This film attempts to show the brutality of war, and what our troops face while serving our country. This is a "must see" film.
Death, Duty, Dishonor February 24, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
" Underneath its deceptively quiet surface, 'The Valley of Elah' is a raw, angry, earnest attempt to grasp the moral consequences of the war in Iraq, and to stare without blinking into the chasm that divides those who are fighting it from their families, their fellow citizens and one another." A.O.Scott
Tommy Lee Jones, as Hank Deerfield, plays this role as it was meant to be. He is gruff, polished, a former MP in the Army, and his love for duty, honor and his country and an upright sense of right and wrong is a sign of his exrtreme faith. He makes his motel bed each morning with tight military edges. During the course of the film, one can see his face sag and his wrinkles deepen and his torment is written on his face for all to see. There is no make-up that can etch that misery, it came from within and that, my friend, is a sign of an accomplished thespian. Hank has been told that his son, Mike, an Army Specialist, returned from Iraq only two days is AWOL. No one knows where he is or what happened to him. After a few days, Hank gets into his truck, drives to the Army barracks in the south where his son was stationed and begins an investigation himself. He meets his son's Army buddies, and the stonewall that the Army has erected.
When the charred pieces of his son's body are found by a desert road near the base, Hank puts his battle face on. The only clues he has are some JPEGs his son e-mailed to him. We see in the film, Hank awakening night after night from the memory of a late-night phone call from Mike in the war zone, and we see scrambled video recovered from Mike's cellphone. These unfocused streams are a simile of what is wrong in this war and what we are missing in the nightly news. What is really happening in Iraq?He runs into Emily Sanders, a local detective played by Charlize Theron. Both of them are trying to figure out who could have done such a terrible thing to his boy. Charlize Theron is superb in this role. She underplays the role, is ruthless with her superiors in pushing an investigation, and time and time again she is given new insights into the investigation by Hank. He has experience and knows his job.
The underlying theme of this movie is the war in Iraq. There is no questioning of why are we there, should we be there, no, the message is the terrible impact this war has had on our soldiers and on us and more of what is yet to come.
Hank asks us "What is what we're doing in Iraq doing to us?" The title of the film is derived from a Biblical reference, "The Valley of Elah is best known as the scene of the Biblical battle between David and Goliath (Elah means terebinth, a tree commonly found in this area). The brook of Elah, which lies in the heart of the valley, is a seasonal creek that runs dry in the summer months. Most probably the brook from which David chose five smooth stones in preparation for battle, it is the ideal place to reminisce about what is arguably the most famous story from the Bible. The Elah Valley is fifteen miles from Bethlehem." Bible.com
"The David and Goliah reference is in Haggis' metaphorical scheme, cast as the giant caught off guard. That's a profoundly unsettling idea, but In the Valley of Elah also uses the American flag to bring you to tears. 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."
Owen Gleiberman
This film has left a scar on my soul. I will remember Tommy Lee Jones's performance as a reference of what America is feeling about the loss of our soldiers in Iraq and what we have asked of them. What have we done?
Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 02-24-08
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