Elah Elah Elah, Eh Eh Eh

Let me start off by saying I hated Crash (the Paul Haggis one, not the David Cronenberg one, cuz I dig car crash induced sex scenes). I thought it was a lame attempt by a rich, white, Scientologist to educate the world about racism. So when his new film, In the Valley of Elah, was released I was hesistant. I mean, I waited till it came out on DVD to even watch it. But let me tell you something … it is really a well-made film.

Haggis shoots the story of a father and ex-Arm sergeant (Tommy Lee Jones) like a suspense/thriller so our attention is always focused on the questions of why the kid died and who killed him. Then, the socio-political message of “war is hell” on the boys confined to it is delicately laced throughout (aside from the heavy handed last image of the film). Like all great films, this hard pill to swallow is coated in a murder mystery. What’s great about Haggis’ approach is that the mystery is not convoluted, in fact, at the end of the film I was left going, “Well of course PERSON X did it.” But he crafted such a good film that you’re mind doesn’t wander.

Susan Sarandon is under used (but brilliant) and a subplot with Charlize Theron as a single mother/detective and her child is a little underdeveloped, but Jones and the A story give this film real weight and make it a worthwhile rental.

GRADE: A-

FOOTNOTE: Haggis does something, along with John Hughes and a few other writer/directors, which really ANNOYS me. They have a separate title card for their names for WRITTEN BY and DIRECTED BY. Like their body of work is so prestigious that they deserve TWO titles for their names. It is silly, it is masturbatory, and it is a waist. If you wrote and directed something and even produced … PUT IT ON ONE TITLE CARD.