“In the Valley of Elah”
War is hell. I have never been to war, but it is a personal conclusion. In Hollywood, this conclusion has been backed up by any number of effective anti-war films. So then, a cynic would say that war is good for war films. Here on the subject of Iraq, the ongoing occupation, war, what have you, we are just now seeing the first trickle of films dealing with this very present subject. “In the Valley of Elah” is an anti-war film, make no qualms about it. It also manages to be an effective murder mystery, a real who-done-it that builds up steam with an unlikely investigative duo and clues along the way. In fact, this story is well done, but it’s the anti-war part that worries me.
It’s not its motives that worry me but rather it’s means of getting there. Let me back up for a second. “In the Valley of Elah” was written and directed by Paul Haggis. Haggis is sort of a directing and writing superstar these days after last year’s “Crash” (Oscar Winner, best picture) and before that the screenplay to “Million Dollar Baby” (Oscar Winner, best picture). When I saw “Crash” in the theatres I, like many of viewers, was deeply affected. I found the film to be both brilliant and vitally important. Here was a film that attacked racism head on, an issue so prevalent yet so ignored in mainstream entertainment. But it’s strange. I caught just a few minutes of “Crash” the other day on cable and my experience was different; this time I was seeing the heavy handedness that the film’s critics bemoaned. The film seemed simplistic. Why hadn’t I seen this the first time? I don’t know, but it’s important, because a film can only achieve classic status many years later, when repeated viewings confirm our original assessment of a film’s greatness.
Back to “In the Valley of Elah” which tells the story of ex Vietnam war MP Hank Deerfield, whose son, Mike, has returned from Iraq only to go missing a few days later. Hank gets in his truck and drives thru a few states to investigate. He is a quiet patriot. A man as hard as the lines in his face, and his portrayal by Tommy Lee Jones is nothing short of brilliant. Jones, an actor known mainly for grandstanding, here strikes an understated note. Hank is not an easy man to like. He is old school to the core, and quick to become abrasive. But, after all, he is missing a son. His first son died in the military, and now his wife awaits Hank’s nightly phone calls from the cheap motel he checks into: “I’ll find him” he says. Where is Hanks’ son? He returned from Iraq without even notifying his parents, and just a weekend later has disappeared. Hank gets his cell phone, charred from the Iraqi sun, and a technician slowly sends him videos from the phones hard drive revealing things about Mike’s stay in Iraq. Meanwhile Hank teams up with a local Detective, Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) a single mother who is the laughingstock of the local police force because she is a woman. We assume that the military spokesman Lt. Kirklander (Jason Patric, where have you been?) has his own agenda.
I choose not to give away the whole film like most of the reviews of “In the Valley of Elah” but the interaction between Hank and Emily, the slow unfolding of the mystery of Mikes disappearance and the slow unfolding of a picture of what Mike did in Iraq are all played brilliantly. It is the film’s climax that is distressing. It is here that I see Mr. Haggis television writing roots. All the goodwill, the anticipation, the brilliant characterization of Hank Deerfield, is thrown away on dishonest and trite revelations. Quite simply, the film becomes simplistic, forced, contrived. And the films’ message doesn’t deserve it. If I as a viewer who agrees with the film’s message don’t like the way it is put across then something is truly wrong. It feels like propaganda, it feels like a trick, it doesn’t feel like art. It doesn’t feel like truth. Instead, it feels like television. And there is no worse crime that a movie can commit.
Story: B An old school ex-military patriot goes to find out what happened to his son, who has turned up missing after re-turning to Iraq. The story is excellent; it is it’s endgame that messes it up.
Acting: B+ Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant.
Visuals: B Nice. It is a film with a specific look, drained of color to reflect Hank Deerfield’s emotions, and ours in this serious business.
Originality/Innovation: B Its forum to find a way to talk about the war is very effective.
Enjoyability Grade: C Was glued to the thing, but then betrayed by its final fifteen minutes.
Overall Grade: C+ So many good elements to the film but it is its overall grade that must reflect its problems.
|
