Plot: What’s it about?
Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) served his country in the Vietnam conflict, but now he has to one last soldier to tend to, his own son. His son Mike (Jonathan Tucker) just completed a tour of duty in Iraq, but once he returned to American soil, he vanished and was considered AWOL. Now Mike faces a dishonorable discharge from the service, which his father doesn’t want to see happen, so he steps into motion. Hank ventures to New Mexico to find his son, but instead he finds a chain of secrecy that makes it impossible to find out the truth. The soldiers don’t want to talk, the base commander doesn’t want an outsider involved, even local law enforcement is unwilling to lend a hand. This doesn’t deter Hank, but even with his dedication to uncovering the truth, can he find out what really happened to his son?
Just as he did in Crash, director Paul Haggis takes on some controversial subjects in In the Valley of Elah, but the results aren’t the same this time around. In this film, Haggis fails to pull the same kind of spark from the material, instead falling back on criticisms of the Iraq War and the Bush administration. I don’t mind a political slant at all, but there Haggis uses his liberal agenda as a crutch to try to fill in plot holes, with little success. In the Valley of Elah never meshes, it just rolls along at the same speed and never picks up momentum. Tommy Lee Jones is great here however, driving the movie forward and when he isn’t around, things tend to grind to a painful lull. If this were more of a character study and less a force feeding session, the movie would have improved, but as it stands, In the Valley of Elah is hard to recommend.
Video: How does it look?
In the Valley of Elah is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. This transfer might not dazzle, but it looks good and replicates the film’s intended visual design. The visual approach is basic, with a toned down color scheme and a softer, film like texture. This means detail won’t always pop off the screen, but depth is impressive, especially when compared to the standard release, which pales by comparison. So in the end, this might not have the pristine, eye popping visuals of some hi-def titles, but the movie looks great, given the visual design involved.
Audio: How does it sound?
I was never impressed by Dolby TrueHD 5.1 option, at least not in the usual sense. The surrounds don’t show power or depth, but the movie’s audio design is put to full use here. The front channels do handle most of the burden, but there is still good presence to be found. The sound is natural and low key, but there is still some skillful touches evident that help bring the material to life, which adds a lot. So you might not notice how good this soundtrack, but then again, that means it is working just as it should. This disc also includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 option, French and Spanish language tracks, and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A two part documentary explores both the real life events and the production of the movie, giving us perspective into how it all came together. The best moments come from actual soldiers who were used in the movie, as they bring the kind of situations seen in the movie to life. Not the best or most balanced piece I’ve seen, but a welcome inclusion. This disc also includes some deleted scenes.
