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In the Valley of Elah

  • 2007
  • R
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
76K
YOUR RATING
Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron in In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Independent Pictures
Play trailer0:32
9 Videos
50 Photos
True CrimeCrimeDramaMystery

A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.

  • Director
    • Paul Haggis
  • Writers
    • Paul Haggis
    • Mark Boal
  • Stars
    • Tommy Lee Jones
    • Charlize Theron
    • Jonathan Tucker
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    76K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Paul Haggis
    • Writers
      • Paul Haggis
      • Mark Boal
    • Stars
      • Tommy Lee Jones
      • Charlize Theron
      • Jonathan Tucker
    • 261User reviews
    • 203Critic reviews
    • 65Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 3 wins & 21 nominations total

    Videos9

    In The Valley of Elah
    Trailer 0:32
    In The Valley of Elah
    In The Valley of Elah
    Clip 1:13
    In The Valley of Elah
    In The Valley of Elah
    Clip 1:13
    In The Valley of Elah
    In The Valley of Elah
    Clip 0:54
    In The Valley of Elah
    In The Valley of Elah
    Clip 0:43
    In The Valley of Elah
    In The Valley of Elah
    Clip 1:32
    In The Valley of Elah
    In The Valley Of Elah: I Want To Go Back
    Clip 1:33
    In The Valley Of Elah: I Want To Go Back

    Photos50

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    Top cast56

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    Tommy Lee Jones
    Tommy Lee Jones
    • Hank Deerfield
    Charlize Theron
    Charlize Theron
    • Det. Emily Sanders
    Jonathan Tucker
    Jonathan Tucker
    • Mike Deerfield
    Jason Patric
    Jason Patric
    • Lt. Kirklander
    Susan Sarandon
    Susan Sarandon
    • Joan Deerfield
    James Franco
    James Franco
    • Sgt. Dan Carnelli
    Barry Corbin
    Barry Corbin
    • Arnold Bickman
    Josh Brolin
    Josh Brolin
    • Chief Buchwald
    Frances Fisher
    Frances Fisher
    • Evie
    Wes Chatham
    Wes Chatham
    • Corporal Steve Penning
    Jake McLaughlin
    Jake McLaughlin
    • Spc. Gordon Bonner
    Mehcad Brooks
    Mehcad Brooks
    • Spc. Ennis Long
    Wayne Duvall
    Wayne Duvall
    • Detective Nugent
    Roman Arabia
    Roman Arabia
    • Private Robert Ortiez
    • (as Victor Wolf)
    Brent Briscoe
    Brent Briscoe
    • Detective Hodge
    Greg Serano
    Greg Serano
    • Detective Manny Nunez
    • (as Greg Serrano)
    Brent Sexton
    Brent Sexton
    • Lt. Burke
    Devin Brochu
    Devin Brochu
    • David Sanders
    • Director
      • Paul Haggis
    • Writers
      • Paul Haggis
      • Mark Boal
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews261

    7.176.4K
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    Featured reviews

    7Wuchakk

    What war can do to young men

    Released in 2007 and directed & written by Paul Haggis, "In the Valley of Elah" is a crime drama/mystery inspired by the real-life case of Richard T. Davis. The story revolves around an elderly Tennessee couple (Tommy Lee Jones & Susan Sarandon) who get word that their son has gone missing from his base in New Mexico shortly after his return from Iraq. A retired military investigator, Hank Deerfield (Jones) goes to the base to find out the awful truth. Charlize Theron plays the civilian detective near the base who tries to help Hank while Jason Patric plays the Army counterpart. Josh Brolin is on hand as the town police chief.

    This is a slow-burn mystery highlighted by great acting by the principles, especially Jones, and a thoroughly realistic story, which isn't surprising seeing as how it's based on true events. Speaking of which, I was surprised to find out that the basic details of the story are all accurate. The actual events took place in the Fort Benning area of Georgia rather than the fictitious Fort Rudd, NM.

    The movie's not anti-Iraq War, but rather anti-PTSD; it merely reveals the awful truth about war in general: When we send our young men off to far-off lands where brutal warfare is normal they can bring that desensitized mentality back with them where the barbaric behavior that might be acceptable in war is anything but normal or conducive to a successful life, to say the least. Add the idiocy of alcohol abuse to the mix of PTSD and the results almost certainly WON'T be good.

    The title refers to the valley where David, as a teen, fought and defeated the utterly intimidating Goliath from 1 Samuel 17.

    ADDITIONAL ACTORS: James Franco, Wes Chatham, Jake McLaughlin, Mehcad Brooks and Roman Arabia play soldiers who knew Deerfield's son while Frances Fisher has a curious cameo (you'll know what I mean).

    The film runs 121 minutes and was shot in Whiteville, Tennessee, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Morocco substituting for Iraq.

    GRADE: B
    8wisewebwoman

    A film that takes on a daring theme

    And with the war still on, the theme of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - is topical and relevant. Shell shock, they used to call it. It is more than shells these days, of course - it is the killing of children and innocents which has an appalling and destabilizing effect on the young U.S. men and women soldiers engaged in Iraq.

    Paul Haggis who has made Crash amongst other good films, tackles this difficult subject with sensitivity depicting the dehumanization of the soldiers who come home to an indifferent populace.

    Hank Deerfield (played by Tommy Lee Jones) is a retired Vietnam veteran who investigates the disappearance of his son and comes up against the brick wall of military police. A sympathetic detective, Emily Sanders (played by Charlize Theron) slowly takes an interest in the case and negotiates with her superior officer to take the case back from the military police who want to brush it under the rug. When Mike Deerfield is found, dismembered and scattered, Hank commits himself to getting at the truth.

    This film is not an anti-war effort but rather the facts are all presented, and one is left to come to one's own conclusions.

    Tommy Lee Jones gives one of his best performances here, a relentless, humourless driven father, who has not been the best father, but doesn't rest until he finds the closure he desperately needs on the matter of the murder of his son.

    Susan Sarandon was totally underused in the part of the mother of Mike, but the little we are shown of her is riveting.

    Charlize Theron plays down her beauty to the degree that she wears bandages and bruises on her face through many of the scenes and ignores the rampant sexism of her unit. A great performance.

    I didn't care for the Valley of Elah metaphor which is at the core of the movie itself. The David and Goliath story did not have a relevance to a story of PTSD and the horrific effects it has on both perpetrators and victims. So I am left puzzled at this symbolism. A little guy taking on a giant? Who would be the little guy? The Iraqis?

    However, that vexation aside, for overall tension and the sheer watchability of Mr. Jones in a meaty role, this movie gets an 8 out of 10 from me.

    .
    9bpreston41-1

    Why do most critics attack this film for being heavy-handed?

    Only Roger Ebert and the reviewer for Rolling Stone seem to see the truth here: this film is slow and elegiac because it deals with heavy matters, but it is never boring, not if you understand the situation and the depth of feelings being explored. It's as if reviewers don't get it because they didn't really feel what the film is saying. Saying that there have been dozens of films about how war ruins men so it's a cliché, and that this one is too dreary and slow means that a person has stopped feeling for what is really hurtful, is even in denial. And that's the theme of this film: what happens when we lose touch with what's painful and don't care any more. The film is restrained but powerful, which is why it has such a strong effect.

    Jones is wonderfully grim, with a face like a road map, as he explores what happened to his son. Charlize Theron is beautiful even though she is playing a woman who is forced to act as non-sexy as possible to get on in her job in a male police force. Susan Sarandon is not, as some critic said, "underused"; she gives a performance that is all the more powerful because it is restrained. This movie should be a must see for all who believe that the Iraq war should continue until there is an honorable time for America to leave. That time is already passed.
    Tony43

    Quietly effective

    The big movies about the Vietnam war -- Apocalypse Now, Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket -- didn't reach the screen until about five years after the war ended. But movies dealing with Iraq and terrorism are cropping up all over even as this war still rages.

    What exactly that means is hard to know, but it would seem to indicate that no matter which side of the issue they come down on, the filmmakers are willing to risk alienating about half the potential audience in an America more polarized today than at any point in our history.

    "In the Valley of Elah" treads lightly on the politics for most of the movie, concentrating on the unfolding mystery of what happened to a young soldier who vanishes shortly after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq. Looking for answers are his father, a former sergeant in the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, and a young female civilian detective, who gets involved in the case, gets bounced off in a jurisdictional dispute, but winds up back on the case when its determined the crime took place off military property.

    While director Paul Haggis gets uniformly good performances out of all the characters, the movie belongs to Tommy Lee Jones as the grieving father and Charlize Theron as the determined detective. Both turn in outstanding performances. Jones shines, playing a man who has spent his life holding in his emotions and can't change now, even as his world falls apart. Theron radiates strength as a woman trying to survive in a sexist police department where all her male colleagues are certain she slept her way into her detective's job. That is somewhat important to the story, because the movie provides a look into the lower class white community that provides the bulk of the recruits in the all volunteer army.

    None of this really deals with the politics of the war, though, and it is not until the very end of the film that politics come into play, and even there, it is handled with great care. The message is more about the kind of war America finds itself fighting today and what that type of combat does to the men who engage in it. Unlike world wars one and two, Vietnam and Iraq are not wars between easily recognized enemies. We are not battling the Germans or the Japanese. In both Nam and Iraq, Americans find it is difficult to tell friend from foe. That means they often must make snap decisions that sometimes determine whether they themselves live or die. Needless to say, their decisions also determine the fate of the people in the sights of their weapons..

    "In the Valley of Elah" does an excellent job of showing that post traumatic stress syndrome is not an oddity, but rather a growing problem in an army of young men whose job requires them to be quick on the trigger.

    Every American should see this movie and then think long and hard about it.
    7Aglaope

    War Ruins Men

    This movie deals with the serious business of war and what it does to people.

    It also deals with the anguish of parents, and how they try to deal with loss. When all is gone and there seems no point carrying on.

    As well as this there is the military and how it deals with its image and the fragility of the men it must use.

    The ex military father tries to find the truth behind his sons death. Despite him feeling he could do a better job than the police. Even he is caught out by the truth.

    The movie is slow, and serious, and even disturbing at times. However, it always keeps you interested, and is a good watch; if you are in the right mood for it.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film was originally a potential starring vehicle for Clint Eastwood, who directed Paul Haggis' screenplay for Million Dollar Baby (2004). Eastwood turned it down, despite liking the script very much, and recommended his friend Tommy Lee Jones for the role of Hank Deerfield.
    • Goofs
      The opening subtitle says that the Deerfields live in "Munro, Tennessee", but the address on the side of Hank's truck says "Munroe, Tennessee".
    • Quotes

      Chief Buchwald: But didn't you just say that you would do whatever you were told?

      Det. Emily Sanders: Yeah, I sometimes exaggerate for effect.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Brave One/The Hottest State/Mr. Woodcock/In the Valley of Elah/Across the Universe (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      Shu44le
      Written by Robin Davey and Jesse Davey

      Performed by The Davey Brothers

      Courtesy of The Davey Brothers

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 28, 2007 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Warner Bros (France)
      • Warner Independent Pictures (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Death and Dishonor
    • Filming locations
      • Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
      • NALA Films
      • Summit Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $22,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $6,777,741
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $133,557
      • Sep 16, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $29,541,790
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 1 minute
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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