Review of In the Valley of Elah (2007) by Julia W — 14 Jul 2011
A soldier (Jonathan Tucker) who returns from Iraq, but never shows up at home. A concerned mother (Susan Sarandon) and father (great as ever - Tommy Lee Jones) who know their boy better than this. A police officer (Charlize Theron) who first doesn't want to, then makes it very hard to help. And in between all this the terrifying and mutilated remains of a reality which happened back in Iraq and no-one wants to face or talk about.
Even though I'm really not easily touched by patriotic american movies about wars (which some might call a brave quest), this is one of the most ruthless and heart-breaking films I have seen in a very long time. What Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron bring to life by their performance is as truly awakening as much as harrowing. And instead of making it worse by demonstrating once more the so-called necesssity of the Iraq invasion it shows its true face which is pure madness.
That the story is actually based on true events is just one more fact that makes it really hard not to start getting some serious thoughts about the reasons and meaning behind all of this.
This review of In the Valley of Elah (2007) was written by Julia W on 14 Jul 2011.
In the Valley of Elah has generally received positive reviews.
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