In the Valley of Elah stars Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive, U.S. Marshalls), Charlize Theron (Monster, Reindeer Games), Jason Patric (Narc (AWESOME MOVIE), Speed 2) and Susan Sarandon (Stepmom, Mr. Woodcock). 

Sgt. Deerfield (played by Jones) gets a phone call one morning stating that his son has not reported back for duty and is going to be marked absent if he doesn’t come back.  Sgt. Deerfield feels that something is wrong, so he packs up his things and heads down to New Mexico, where his son’s military base is located.  It turns out that his son has been brutally murdered.  When I say brutally, I mean that his body was mutilated so badly that identifying him was not that easy. 

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Once the body is found, an investigation is originally launched by the military.  After figuring out some jurisdiction issues, the case is given back to the police, where Detective Sanders (played by Theron) heads up the case.  Sgt. Deerfield will not leave until he finds out who killed his son and why.  He helps Detective Sanders with the investigation, while doing a lot of the investigation on his own.  It is amazing how much you can find out by going through someone’s cell phone. 

Haggis had a really good idea and throughout the movie, kept showing the audience videos that Deerfield’s son shot while over in Iraq.  It really adds to the feel of the story and how messed up these soldiers were from being over in that war zone. 

The Review: Overall, I felt that it was a very emotional and important film to see, but there is no need to run out to the theatres to catch it.  It is a very slow-moving film, but it does keep you interested throughout.  Do you need to drive all the way out to the theatre to see it though?  Not really, just drive out to the local blockbuster and rent it when it comes out. 

Do not get me wrong, I really did enjoy the film, but it had Paul Haggis written all over it.  Haggis loves to touch on racial issues in his films and he had to throw some of that in the film as well.  I am not knocking the guy; I am just saying that he needs to change his style a little bit.  For some reason, all of his scripts always have to deal with some kind of racial issue. It is getting a little bit old.  

Some of the positives that I want to point out were the performances in the film. Tommy Lee Jones was unbelievable and I can definitely see him being up for an Oscar for best actor.  Watching his facial expressions change throughout the film was phenomenal.  When it gets to the end, he almost looks like a little puppy dog.  Sarandon, even though she was only in the film for a little while, was phenomenal.  There is a scene when they show her the body and it is almost like she has seen a ghost.  She basically goes white. 

The Verdict: I give the film a 3 BDK because I do feel that it is an important film to see, but it can be just as enjoyable as a rental.  It is a very slow moving movie, but it pays off in the end.  The film is important to see because it tells you a story that not many people know.  It just shows you the horrors of war and what it can do to people once they get back to the U.S.