Monday, March 09, 2009

In the Valley of Elah

Another thought provoking movie from Paul Haggis, the director of Crash. Just as Tommy Lee Jones (an ex-army investigator) & Susan Sarandon are recovering from the death of their first son, they learn about the disappearance of their younger son who has just returned from the war in Iraq. TLJ wades into the mystery as he suspects that things are not as simple as its made out to be - little realising what the truth would really be like. The writer/director has quite lofty intentions in helping viewers confront the truth of today's world. However just as in Crash, found the slickness of the output a bit jarring on the senses. Enjoyed it nevertheless - due to the steely performance of TLJ (& rest of the cast) possibly.

Rating: * * *

1 comment:

Rama Rama said...

TLJ is deadly as usual. But I would like to see him play different roles from the stoic investigator / cop types he revels in. I was also quite impressed with by the de-glamorized Charlize Theron.