In the Valley of Elah

2.5/4 stars

In the Valley of Elah is a movie that tries to be a mystery, a tragedy and a political statement. As a mystery it is dense and unpredictable (if somewhat dry), as a tragedy it is well acted and strikingly composed. However, the film's political agenda derails its success in other areas.

Tommy Lee Jones is the protagonist, a father who tries to solve his son's murder even as he grieves. His quiet intensity and constrained emotion are the film's greatest asset, and a reminder of Jones' incredible talent. He plays a character struggling with many emotions; anger, guilt, courage and determination, and he balances them all with great restraint. Charlize Theron gives a well drawn performance as the ambivalent police detective who helps him. The supporting cast includes numerous talented actors and strikes the right note as well, even if this often only requires them to be somber.

Whether or not they agree with the film's political sentiments (a condemnation of war in general and the Iraq war in particular), viewers will find that they rob the film's conclusion of the emotional payoff we should be feeling. Instead of playing as ingenious plot twist, the mystery's solution seems like an arbitrary deux es machina, designed to take us by surprise in the most tragic way possible. The use of a flashback at the end to twist the knife undermines the spare and direct storytelling style that the movie has established, and its powerful final image seems an unearned contrivance. Paul Haggis, while a highly talented writer and director, also has a history of such heavy-handedness (see Crash). In the Valley of Elah is another entry in his catalogue that overshoots the correct balance between drama and message.