Review of In the Valley of Elah (2007) by Filipeneto — 12 Jun 2021

This film revolves around the American intervention in Iraq: when a soldier returns home and simply disappears without a word, his father, who was a soldier in Vietnam, decides to move heaven and earth to find him. It's a film about how the war moves everyone involved, and particularly the young soldiers who take part in it, and who don't come home the same way they left.

The film is intense, sometimes brutal in its approach to the subject and does not spare the audience in its effort to show us how good young people are transformed into men that even their parents find it difficult to recognize. All of this is carried out in the wake of a plot that is soon understood to be a crime... from then on, most of the story boils down to the parallel investigation that the father does, aided by a young detective, to find out the truth about the death of his son. There are certain moments where the plot becomes obvious and easy to foresee, but I handled it well and didn't feel the predictability detracted from what I was seeing. I enjoyed seeing the dogged way he investigates, but I felt the film thinks twice about telling us if he really realized how much the war has changed his son for the worse. This caution removed the possibility of an even more impactful ending.

Tommy Lee Jones is the main actor here, and in all fairness, as he presents us with one of the most eloquent works of his career to date. The way the actor plays his character is, in a word, irreproachable. As the film progresses, the actor reveals an increasingly evident wear and bitterness. Charlize Theron also did very well, but the film is not hers, and the character remains forever in Jones' shadow. Veteran Susan Sarandon shows up little, less than she should and deserved, since the little she did was excellent and worthy of an actress of her caliber and experience. The supporting cast features solid but relatively neutral performances from actors such as Jason Patric, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Barry Corbin or Wes Chatham.

Technically, it's a pretty good movie, but not surprising. The cinematography is within the regular standards in use, and does not bring anything new or original that I have observed. The sets and costumes fulfill their role well, but they also don't surpass the average. Also a word for the rare visual and sound effects, and for the unremarkable soundtrack. All the chips have been bet on the good script and the cast, and I understand that bet well.