In the Valley of Elah (2007): C

Director(s): Paul Haggis. Screenplay: Paul Haggis. Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, Jason Patric, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Jonathan Tucker, Rick Gonzalez, Francis Fisher, Barry Corbin, Brad William Henke, Wayne Duvall and Brent Briscoe. Distributor: Warner Independent Pictures. Runtime: 117 min. Rating: R.

Paul Haggis continues his chaotic style of filmmaking with In The Valley of Elah, a well-intentioned but lopsidedly and dully aestheticized tale "loosely" based on true events (really a 2004 Playboy piece). At least one thing is for sure: this film surely beats the hell out of Crash, which can now definitely be considered as almost a complete failure in the director's primary conceptions, as well as filmmaking in general. Yet while Elah is definitely proof of some sort of progression in Haggis' narrative style, the film still critically suffers many of the same elements as Crash; simply put, unfound is the ability to tell a story sans any sort of lame pretensions or superfluous subplots, as well as archetypal characters. Yet timeliness does come to its cannon: what it does have to say about Iraq, it says it clearly and with conviction, proof of progression in administering the director's politics in with the whole mess. Essentially, the film stars Tommy Lee Jones as Hank Deerfield, a retired Army sergeant and Vietnam veteran looking for his son, fresh out of Iraq, who has randomly and mysteriously disappeared. As usual, Haggis is able to characterize him adequately, but he never rises from the level of a predictable, contrived cliché. With the help of local policeman—or shall I say, policewoman—Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), the two go on a quest to find who killed Deerfield's son as well as the reason. As usual, the narrative is littered with unnecessary and stupid contrivances, that not only lag the film down but also dilapidate the film's opening warmth; yet it never reaches the zero level as Haggis did with Crash. But I can't help but wonder, especially as the last shot of the film is put into motion: is there really a necessity of adding on this faux sense of emotion and random parallelism among the characters? Must is also be necessary to throw in a subplot involving Emily and how she got her job? No. The film is critically stricken by these aspects.

By chance, Haggis has assembled one hell of a cast, including the pensive, masterful Tommy Lee Jones; that poetry that the film lacks, the few shards of brilliance that the film is able to conjure—it's all him. Along with the solemnly typical Charlize Theron, these two are the foundations of the film, and you can thank god for it. Jones is also to be found in the new Coen Brothers film, No Country for Old Men, which opened tonight at The 45th New York Film Festival; both films are the start of the fall season, and here's to hope that No Country will at least have those old people at the academy more entertained than Elah.