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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: $3.94
You Save: $16.04 (80%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $3.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  (95 reviews)
Sales Rank: 6004
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:
A Richly Textured Jones Performance Dominates Haggis' Post-Iraq Detective Story July 3, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have to admit it was with some trepidation that I finally saw this 2007 murder mystery directed and written by Paul Haggis. His last time doing double-duty was the polarizing Crash, an omnibus fable of LA-based race relations, powerfully acted but also a manipulative model of melodramatic contrivance. This time out, he is less patronizing because the storyline is more contained and based in fact. However, Haggis still shows the same need to stay topical, seek restitution for his characters and convey an undeniable sense of parable. These factors are what make movie-watchers either love his work or hate it for the way he often undercuts the credibility of the drama to make his points. Regardless, there is no arguing with the fact that Tommy Lee Jones gives a masterful performance of a man who can barely contain his grief under a veneer of old-school reserve. It's a gratifying continuation of the recently stellar work he has done in his own directorial debut, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and the Coen Brothers' bleak No Country for Old Men.
Jones plays taciturn Hank Greenfield, a retired Army officer and ex-military cop who now hauls gravel in Tennessee. He receives word that his son Mike, a soldier just back from Iraq, is about to be reported as AWOL from his base in New Mexico. Immediately sensing something is not right, Hank leaves his concerned wife Joan at home and drives straight to the base to see if he can get to the bottom of his son's disappearance. He receives next to no assistance from either the military or the local police, who argue over whether it's a matter for the Army to resolve. Things change dramatically when a charred, dismembered body is found abandoned in a desolate field outside of town. Once it has been identified, Hank works diligently and fractiously with Emily Sanders, a sympathetic, overworked detective, to find out not only who the murderer is but what the reasons were for such a vile act of inhumanity. Naturally, they encounter an abundance of military red-tape, pervasive apathy from the local police force and a couple of red herrings before coming to a resolution.
Without giving anything away, I have to say the ending lacks a deep emotional resonance that would have made Hank's journey to know his son truly memorable. Instead, we find Haggis informing us how the day-to-day bloodshed in Iraq cannot help but impact the hearts and minds of those who make it home, a lesson one would have thought was made clear from Vietnam. Beyond the quietly nuanced work of Jones, a somewhat deglamorized Charlize Theron continues to prove she can be a fine actress in worthy roles like Emily (and not the comic-book dominatrix Aeon Flux). She fluctuates between strong and empathetic with impressive fluidity. In the understandably smallish role of Joan, Susan Sarandon barely has any screen time for an actress of her caliber, but she makes her couple of wrenching scenes count. Similarly powerful actors have been cast in relatively minor parts - James Franco as an officious base official, Josh Brolin as Emily's ego-driven chief, a nearly unrecognizable Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure) as Hank's old Army pal, and Jason Patric who is allowed to make of an impression as a poker-faced lieutenant who appears to be stonewalling the case. Frances Fisher has a thankless cameo as a topless waitress who provides one of the key clues in the case.
Except for a couple of unnecessary detours toward the end, Haggis has ultimately made less of an involving mystery and more of a dramatically effective "message" movie - not as heavy-handed as "Crash" and of a less arguable variety. The 2008 DVD offers no commentary track from either Haggis or Jones, a surprising omission, but there is a sobering 43-minute video diary of the production spotlighting a number of the actors playing the soldiers as well as the parents of the real-life soldier upon whom Haggis based his story. Also included is an "additional scene", which amounts to an eight-minute deleted subplot about Mike's unknown girlfriend rather absurdly named "Jennifer Lopez" for easy laughs. The laughs evaporate when we see she is a multiple amputee who began to see Mike's changing nature. Particularly fascinating is the variable use of green scene to hide her limbs.
 Beautiful film. Manipulative and dishonest. July 1, 2008
3 out of 11 found this review helpful
Valley is a beautifully shot movie, with great acting and an engaging thriller script. Plus it criticizes the Iraq War. Hence the great reviews.
But there is another side to Valley - disrespect for soldiers and dishonest manipulation of the facts. Soldiers in Valley are pretty much all depicted negatively: they spend times in strip joints and with hookers, do drugs (meth, just in case viewers don't mind marijuana) and booze up constantly. And, oh, yes, they are also torturers, psychopaths and murderers.
At the core, Valley is a true story, but a wee bit "spiced up" to get the PC message across. Do soldiers booze up and go to strip clubs? I'd be surprised if many didn't. Do they all do that and are they all druggies? Hmmm, probably not, but that's not what Valley shows.
Another example is that you have 2 simultaneous murders on the same base. The main story's and the bathtub drowning incident. In real life, the bathtub drowning didn't happen in the same place and time. Now, 1 grisly murder is a big story, sure. 2 murders imply a trend. Valley is all about implications by twisting facts.
Does the VA always treat veterans well? Ummm, there was a scandal about that, no?
Is the Bush administration incompetent and did they royally mess up in Iraq? Yes and yes.
Are vets at risk of coming back traumatized? Yes, and they need help, not being spit on.
Do soldiers, under the pretense of caring for them, need to be generalized as psychopathic low-lives? I think not.
And if you wanna tell me that the real-life dad of the victim liked the movie... so what? Do you really expect him to sing the praise of the Army and its soldiers, considering what was done to his son?
 Pretty good, but... June 30, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I thought this movie was well written and acted, but I found the resolution of the murder to be a bit unsatisfying and incomplete.
 An excellent, moving film June 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Unfortunately, a great deal of the reviews on here are obvious examples of partisan views. I'm not going to try to tell you that I don't swing one way or the other in the political spectrum, but this film will your views regardless of your party affiliation. If you're a supporter of the war, you will be forced to reconsider the reasoning for it. However, the documentary in the special features section will raise guilt in those who have not supported the war. Soldiers returned from Iraq speak about how they expected to return to a society that understood the trauma that they had undergone. When in reality, very little has changed.
The overall message of the film is extremely powerful. For those interested in the cinematography, it
was as strong as nearly any film I've seen.
While your political views may not be in line with those that come across on the surface of this film, I urge you to give it a shot. Renting is always a good way to see if you like it before considering purchasing it.
Support our troops, ALL of them. June 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a truly exceptional film, I didn't think I could like Tommy Lee Jones any more than I already do but he is really outstanding in this movie. I have to agree with the person who said it's depressing, it is. My heart ached after watching this and I didn't think I'd ever want to watch it again but I can't stop thinking about it.
I take exception to those who say it's nothing more than an anti-war, Bush-bashing, movie. Paul Haggis was inspired to write the screenplay after reading an article in Playboy ("Death and Dishonor" by Mark Boal, 2004) about Army Specialist Richard Davis, an Iraq war veteran who was murdered shortly after his return from Iraq. Richard Davis's father Lanny is also a former military police officer like the character Tommy Lee Jones plays, he too mounted his own investigation into his son's murder as did Tommy Lee Jones' character.
The case of Richard Davis' murder was also featured on CBS' 48 Hours and author Cilla McCain has written a book about it entitled, "Murder in Baker Company: The Forgotten Soldier" (Ms. McCain's own review can be found here: [...]
During the Vietnam War they sold POW bracelets that had engraved on them the name of a missing soldier, his rank and the date he went missing. Along with the bracelets came stickers for you to stick on the bracelet after the status of the missing soldier was discovered. Sadly the soldier on my bracelet was MIA until long after my bracelet broke, but I will never forget his name: Sgt. Harold Reid. I researched a few years ago and found out they had finally recovered his body and brought it home for burial near his family in Utah.
Isn't it unfortunate that for all the "Support Our Troops" yellow ribbons and magnets I see on cars everywhere, so little is done for them once they return home, they're essentially forgotten. Why aren't we equally supportive of those who have returned so changed from a needless, senseless war? Why would they need us to remember them and how they've selflessly given of themselves to serve our country? After all, they're "done", right?
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