Review of In the Valley of Elah (2007) by Cecilia C — 13 Mar 2009

I think right off the bat this film gets a bad rap since it?s unfortunately grouped with the recent films about the Iraq War. That?s unfair, in my opinion, since this is a strong, edgy thriller that deserves to be seen as a THRILLER and not necessarily as an anti-war statement.

Tommy Lee Jones plays a father who, at the start of the film, finds out his son, recently back from the war in the Middle East, is missing. Yes, much of the film does deal with the war, since Jones has to find out what happened to his son while he was over there and if it is at all connected to his disappearance.

But, most of the story just has Jones searching for the truth and finding bits and pieces of facts and fictions and putting them together to get some answers. Yes, the story has holes, but based how badly this film was received, it was MUCH better than I thought it would be.

So, ignore the propaganda ? and just enjoy the movie.