Film Review: In The Valley of Elah

Will cinema survive the horror that is Paul Haggis? Yes, of course. But why, oh why, do his works garner such adulation? Crash, the first film he directed, won him a best picture Oscar. In 2004 he wrote Million Dollar Baby and as we all know it too won for best picture. Let’s add to that list a horrible remake of an Italian film with The Last Kiss and Letters from Iwo Jima, a film which was just okay. We all know how much I loathe Crash, but Million Dollar Baby lines up right behind it with films which I really don’t like. His works have the combined subtlety of something like using an elephant to crack open a peanut.

And yet I watched In the Valley of Elah, Haggis’ second time as director. Once again we are presented with an issue movie. This time the war in Iraq. However, unlike the rest of his usual dribble this film works, sort of. The story begins as Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) receives word that his son has returned home from Iraq, but is missing. And thus a typical crime solving drama begins. Hank, a retired military serviceman, attempts to enlist help from various unhelpful agencies. In fact one particularly telling scene involves the local police arguing over whose jurisdiction the case falls under. In spite of all these unhelpful folks, Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) a single mother in a man’s world, helps Hank on his quest. Susan Sarandon plays as the missing boy’s mother and even though she is only in a few scenes, she is quite an intriguing character.

One of the film's great triumphs is the amazing performance on the part of Tommy Lee Jones. In a so-so film, his performance really stands out. Like in No Country for Old Men, Jones is best when he is in pursuit of something. And watching a master of his craft like Jones act is an actual pleasure. Although I would argue that his performance in No Country for Old Men is slightly better and I imagine the Academy chose to nominate his performance in this film as more a recognition of his entire year’s work.

However, the film’s fatal flaw, like all of Haggis’ films is enduring the endless barrage of sermons that Haggis’ hopes to preach to us. In this film “war is hell.” Wow, Haggis that is an insightful as this little ditty “racism is wrong” from Crash. With restraint, In the Valley of Elah could make a profound statement, even if that statement were as simple as the aforementioned one, but Haggis decides to trade in story and style for message. Yes, it is less a problem in this film as with Crash, but still it is a real shame. A shame, because somewhere within this mess of this film is a really, really great film. A film which could have struck some important chords, changed some minds and never once have sacrificed its value as a film for the previous things.

Could Haggis be a good director? Yes, of course. And with some restraint and maybe with the help of a more subtle screenwriter he will write and direct some great stuff. I’m waiting.