Review of In the Valley of Elah (2007) by Compi24 — 29 Jan 2019
An unfathomably underrated piece of murky, riveting crime drama. Not sure why everyone slept on this one. "In The Valley Of Elah" is as much a sobering study of war and its psychological effects as it is an engrossing, labyrinthine true crime piece.
Tommy Lee Jones' performance is masterful in the professional sense, giving the audience just enough to know what's going on underneath, but not enough to encroach upon the realms of melodramatic "scene chewery.
" Charlize Theron's supporting turn is just as commendable, acting as more of an olive branch to the audience than anything else, but doing so in a skillful and tender fashion. Roger Deakins cinematography is -- as always -- to be commended.
And Mark Isham's score is cerebral and appropriately dark. This is a haunting and, at times, horrifying film with a whole lot to say, but with nowhere near the amount of "chip" resting on its shoulder as some of the more rhetorically unabashed films you see nowadays.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say this movie came out at the wrong time. It probably would have done much better now than it did in 2006/2007. It certainly holds up for me.
This review of In the Valley of Elah (2007) was written by Compi24 on 29 Jan 2019.
In the Valley of Elah has generally received positive reviews.
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