'In the Valley of Elah' is wrenching, timely [View All]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2007-09-13-review-valley-elah_N.htm

'In the Valley of Elah' is wrenching, timely

In the Valley of Elah
* * * 1/2
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, James Franco
Director: Paul Haggis

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

In the Valley of Elah is a rare blend of emotional content and intelligent material that makes it simultaneously gut-wrenching and thought-provoking.

Absorbing, sobering, timely and eloquent, it may disturb some viewers with its strong anti-war message. But Paul Haggis' sharply written script and compelling direction will not disappoint.

The film is an exploration of the searing effect of the Iraq war on soldiers and their families. At its heart is a multidimensional portrait of a patriotic American family whose worldview is shaken to the core. It is also an eye-opening look at the experiences of American soldiers sent to Iraq, as well as their treatment and adjustment upon returning to their native soil.

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Elah focuses on the disappearance of a soldier just home from Iraq and the military's lax investigation into his whereabouts. As we watch Jones' disillusionment with an institution he ardently supported, we feel his pain. And we are shattered along with him as we absorb his horror at the transformation of honorable young men into numbed and tortured souls.

This is undeniably a haunting movie. But don't let that scare you off. The ending, and all that leads up to it, will leave viewers devastated but deeply moved.