OVP: In the Valley of Elah (2007)

Film: In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, Jonathan Tucker, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Wes Chatham
Director: Paul Haggis
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Actor-Tommy Lee Jones)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

The words "directed by Paul Haggis" do not inspire much confidence in me when I see them attached to a movie poster or film opening credits.  Ten years later, I still have whiplash from Crash somehow beating Brokeback Mountain (if you think my write-ups have been snarky toward Slumdog Millionaire so far, just you wait Henry Higgins), but I try to enter every film I go into with an open mind, and quite frankly I didn't realize this was a Paul Haggis film until the end credits (I must have missed it at the beginning), so I met this film with few preconceived notions.  The movie, a surprise Oscar nominee (at the time most people figured that Emile Hirsch or Ryan Gosling, not Tommy Lee Jones, would be the fifth Best Actor nominee), follows Jones' Hank Deerfield as he tries to find the true reason for his son's death.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film is told in a pretty dark, dry style, almost reminiscent of a Clint Eastwood picture (it should be noted that Haggis originally wanted Eastwood, and not Jones, to play the lead role), and follows through a small military town, with Hank upending a police investigation of his son (he is a former military police detective) by bringing in his experience, and wanting to figure out why the military is so quick to dismiss his son's death.  He is joined by a police detective (Theron) trying to prove herself with whom he becomes friends.  The film unfolds in an interesting way, and Haggis actually maintains a solid amount of the mystery as the movie progresses, with us eventually finding out that Mike was killed for largely inconsequential reasons, likely driven by his fellow soldiers' paranoia and PTSD.

The film is at its best when it's trying to state something interesting about the military, and perhaps something unpopular.  It's worth noting eight years after the fact that this film was made in 2007, during the nadir of public support of the Iraq War, and so a discussion of how the military was mistreating its veterans wasn't as politically radical as it might have seemed six years earlier or even eight years later, but it is something that seems odd from a filmmaker as politically conventional as Haggis.  The film moves at a leisurely pace, occasionally stopping off into sections of the movie that don't really work but usually making a detour that's of interest (particularly in examining the masculine energy and forced respect of the military).  It helps that Haggis hired an ace cinematographer (I swear I didn't know that Roger Deakins, whom I sing the praises of constantly on this blog, was the cinematographer until just now but I did write "beautiful, desolate shots" in my notes on the film) who gives the film a poshness that always makes it look like a great movie.  It also helps that most of the bigger moments are underplayed, such as the final revelation of who killed Hank's son Mike.  Tommy Lee Jones is not a showy actor, but he's one who gets the job done and never overplays his character.  Occasionally this feels a bit underwhelming, but for the most part I was convinced and liked what Jones brought to Hank.

The same cannot be said for the female characters in the film.  Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron, like Jones, both have Oscars but you'd be right to question this fact based on this movie.  Sarandon's entire part could have been written out without anyone even noticing, and she does little aside from very easy story beats (like being sad when her son dies) to make the character more interesting.  The same could be said for Theron, who has the co-lead role but can't decide exactly what her motives are, and frequently relies on the underwritten script for inspiration, coming up short.  Is she a woman fighting to make it in a man's world, and that's her only motivation?  It's hard to be able to tell, and even she doesn't seem to understand her relationship with Hank.  As a result whenever Jones isn't onscreen you get nothing really from the rest of the cast (including James Franco, who has a bizarrely small part considering he was coming off the Spider-Man movies here and Josh Brolin, who since this is 2007 made his mandatory appearance in the film).

Overall, then, I was whelmed (10 Things I Hate About You joke!) and thought it was good but not great (and the final scene was ridiculously over-the-top, since I probably will never get to mention that again).  What did you think of the movie?  Are you a fan of Jones' surprise nomination or were you more Team Emile or Team Ryan?  Why do you think that Paul Haggis can't seem to direct decent parts for women?  And are you still reeling from Crash winning the Oscar?  Share your thoughts in the comments!