Movie Review for In the Valley of Elah

Summary: The story of a war veteran (Tommy Lee Jones), his wife (Susan Sarandon) and the search for their son, a soldier who recently returned from Iraq but has mysteriously gone missing, and the police detective (Charlize Theron) who helps in the investigation.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/0)
            After the potent final image of In the Valley of Elah faded to black, I had that very sp...

By Tim Brayton of Antagony & Ecstasy (7/0)
            Mostly effective, if not altogether imaginative.

By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            Has numerous levels that go far beyond a whodunit, asking us to look at familial ties, gender rol...

By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (7/0)
            Despite an Oscar-worthy, compelling performance by Tommy Lee Jones, Haggis' anti-war film ... ove...

By Josh Rosenblatt of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            Instead of a nice, clean movie about parental regret we’re forced to suffer through an unnecessar...

By Wesley Morris of Boston Globe (7/0)
            ...a solidly made genre movie: the Army mystery.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Kevin Courrier of Boxoffice Magazine (7/0)
            Although more seamless and less contrived than writer/director/producer Paul Haggis' Academy Awar...

By Fred Topel of Can Magazine (7/0)
            Oh, how I love movies where Tommy Lee Jones is looking for someone. I doesn't have to be a crimin...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah is built on Tommy Lee Jones' persona, and that is why it w...

By Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            ...shrewd and sorrowful...

By Peter Rainer of Christian Science Monitor (7/0)
            In the Valley of Elah held me despite my many qualms. That's because the subject matter is innate...

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            Haggis, with an exemplary cast, explores shadowy secrets of men in the ranks with a determined br...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com (7/0)
            Preview and images.

By Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com (7/0)
            Haggis reduces America's problems to a series of slanders and then hangs a flag upside down just ...

By James Rocchi of Cinematical (7/0)
            In the Valley of Elah doesn't actually say "Bring the boys home"; it mostly tells us how much Pau...

By Cole Smithey of ColeSmithey.com (7/0)
            It is so patriotic as to be a radical example of dramaturgy. On top of that, it is executed to pe...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            Roger Deakins' beautiful cinematography makes the film look professional, but it doesn't disguise...

By Boo Allen of Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (7/0)
            Often heavy-handed detective-police allegory doesn't diminish the pleasure of watching T. L. Jone...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Matt Stevens of E! Online (7/0)
            Sure, it's good and everything, but you can almost hear Academy members sharpening their ballot p...

By Michelle Alexandria of Eclipse Magazine (7/0)
            This movie feels, stilted, long and boring. But it's also at times engaging, worth seeing for Jon...

By Brian Orndorf of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            It's a difficult picture dealing directly with misery and misfortune, but it has much to say abou...

By Peter Sobczynski of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            With "In The Valley Of Elah," his follow-up to the absurdly overpraised "Crash," writer-director ...

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            Like Crash, Haggis' follow-up shows he's a better writer than helmer, though new film, about the ...

By Vince Koehler of Entertainment Spectrum (7/0)
            This is another home run hit for Tommy Lee Jones.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            It's the first Hollywood Iraq movie to remind me of a Vietnam film like Coming Home, and it does ...

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            Where 'Crash' was full of contrivances and coincidences, Elah is honest, raw, and real.

By Boyd van Hoeij of europeanfilms.net (7/0)
            In the Valley of Elah David slew Goliath and Canadian director Paul Haggis tries to slay the US m...

By Doris Toumarkine of Film Journal International (7/0)
            A perfect storm of strong material, superb casting and performances, and great filmmaking craft a...

By Don R. Lewis of Film Threat (7/0)
            One of the most powerful films I’ve seen in years.

By Chris Barsanti of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            ...achingly sad...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (7/0)
            Tommy Lee Jones astonishes with a silent, agonizing pain you will feel and not easily forget.

By Richard Horgan of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            Elah could easily have been pitched as A Soldier's Story meets In the Heat of the Night.

By Rick Groen of Globe and Mail (7/0)
            In his first solo outing since the Oscar-winning Crash, writer-director Paul Haggis falls into a ...

By Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews (7/0)
            In and of itself, the story offers rich dramatic material that Haggis exploits well, but the writ...

By Michael Rechtshaffen of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            Another eloquent, sobering assessment of the State of the Union from the director of Crash.

By Stax of IGN Movies (7/0)
            Jones could win Best Actor...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Jones is terrific, as is a barely recognizable Theron ... [but] an awkwardly tacked on subplot im...

By Jim Slotek of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            For all its dead ends and flaws, In The Valley of Elah does feature arguably the best performance...

By Jeanne Kaplan of Kaplan vs. Kaplan (7/0)
            Haggis has put together a masterful work here ---- it is not to be missed!

By Kyle Smith of KyleSmithOnline.com (7/0)
            Will forever be known as the upside-down American flag movie. But showing the flag this way is he...

By Matt Kelemen of Las Vegas CityLife (7/0)
            It would be a crime if Jones doesn't receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and Sarandon's reacti...

By Nick Schager of Lessons of Darkness (7/0)
            Tackles its Iraq War subject matter with such sledgehammer clumsiness that it risks giving viewer...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (7/0)
            If there was a symbol for cinematic distress, it would be raised in front of any theater playing ...

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            The film's sense of responsibility proves almost paralyzing, allowing the production to be overwh...

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            ...the film's sense of responsibility proves almost paralyzing, allowing the production to be ove...

By Pete Hammond of Maxim (7/0)
            A heartbreaking story that is told with honor and intelligence in a stirring film that will haunt...

By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            You can literally read on Jones' face. All of which makes certain genre devices intrinsic to the ...

By Colin Covert of Minneapolis Star Tribune (7/0)
            There's much to admire here: a continually surprising storyline, an aversion to cliché, a gallery...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (7/0)
            Elah is in the strange position of being a not wholly successful film that nonetheless should be ...

By Marty Mapes of Movie Habit (7/0)
            A well-made issue movie; but a little too dense and structured

By Michael Dequina of Mr. Brown's Movies (7/0)
            Excellent turns cannot make this plodding package any more of a bludgeoning chore to sit through.

By Kurt Loder of MTV (7/0)
            Haggis' movie is worth seeing mainly for Tommy Lee Jones' stoically pinched and intensely focused...

By Jack Mathews of New York Daily News (7/0)
            What Haggis obviously wants to explore is what the war in Iraq is doing to the humanity of our so...

By David Edelstein of New York Magazine (7/0)
            Paul Haggis’s In the Valley of Elah is vital in spite of its mustiness.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By A. O. Scott of New York Times (7/0)
            Underneath the deceptively quiet surface of In the Valley of Elah is a raw, angry, earnest attemp...

By A. O. Scott of New York Times (7/0)
            Underneath its deceptively quiet surface is a raw, angry, earnest attempt to grasp the moral cons...

By Jan Stuart of Newsday (7/0)
            In Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah, Jones' face is a poignantly detailed map of skepticism, si...

By Nathan Rabin of Onion AV Club (7/0)
            Haggis still has a weakness for big dramatic gestures and heavy-handed symbolism, but a somber to...

By Susan Tavernetti of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            Walking a razor-wire fence, [Writer/Director Paul] Haggis honors Americans serving their country ...

By Bill Gibron of PopMatters (5/2)
            Wearing its holier than thou attitude on its blood-soaked sleeves, In the Valley of Elah is the m...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Rob Humanick of Projection Booth (7/0)
            Haggis' canvas leaves nary an impression on the heart or mind.

By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (7/0)
            It's harder to tell if In the Valley of Elah is critical of the war in Iraq or what America itsel...

By Pam Grady of Reel.com (7/0)
            It is a showcase for Jones, who is moving as a father who only wants to know what happened to his...

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            Fine performances from Tommy Lee Jones and Theron and the investigation itself maintain interest,...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            The last scene of In the Valley of Elah may be the most ridiculously ham-fisted and over-the-top ...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            The haunting, heart-piercing Elah isn't perfect. It's something better: essential.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Carla Meyer of Sacramento Bee (7/0)
            In the Valley of Elah offers a fine example of a mutually beneficial pairing of filmmaker and act...

By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (7/0)
            ...what saves it from ponderousness is the fine acting...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (7/0)
            Each of Haggis' Oscar-winning leads brings out facets of grief and resolve, with Jones particular...

By Larry Ratliff of San Antonio Express-News (7/0)
            Haggis' camera hovers over Jones' craggy face as if it were the lunar lander looking for a smooth...

By Tamara Straus of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            Elah does have moments of slipping into political sermon, but for the most part it is an effectiv...

By Tamara Straus of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            ...Jones is the film's key force, giving one of the best performances of his career.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (7/0)
            features some fine acting and a touchstone subject matter, but I wasn’t nearly as impressed as I ...

By Sean Axmaker of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...Tommy Lee Jones (gives)...a beautifully realized performance.

By John Hartl of Seattle Times (7/0)
            Thanks largely to the intricate, committed performances of Jones and Theron, it succeeds as an ef...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            Haggis draws sensitive performances from his cast while asking provocative, important questions.

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            A namby-pamby tirade against the war in Iraq, In the Valley of Elah is a Canadian's Sydney Pollac...

By Dana Stevens of Slate (7/0)
            This is no doubt the first of many movies that will struggle to tell the stories of a war that's ...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            After watching this riveting film, you will have more compassion than ever for the soldiers who h...

By Andrew Wright of The Stranger (Seattle, WA) (7/0)
            [Jones] can't single-handedly save this frustrating film from its overly earnest impulses, but wh...

By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (7/0)
            A penetrating, lacerating, angry-as-hell condemnation against the incalculably devastating cost o...

By Richard Corliss of TIME Magazine (7/0)
            The combination of dedicated actors and a superior script helps make Elah a far more satisfying f...

By Tony Medley of Tolucan Times (7/0)
            Intended as an anti-war polemic that war is dehumanizing. Well, Duh! Even so, this is an entertai...

By Peter Howell of Toronto Star (7/0)
            The failure to avoid pat answers and cheap grandstanding dogs Haggis here as surely as it did in ...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            Though the portentous title is taken from the Old Testament, the film's concerns are painfully ti...

By Claudia Puig, of USA Today (7/0)
            ...a rare blend of emotional content and intelligent material that makes it simultaneously gut-wr...

By Robert Koehler of Variety (7/0)
            Paul Haggis'follow-up to Crash is too self-serious to work as a straight-ahead whodunit and too l...

By Stephen Hunter of Washington Post (7/0)
            Haggis is an extremely talented man, and much of the film works brilliantly. But it misses the ma...

By Prairie Miller of WBAI Web Radio (7/0)
            Grueling truths more intimated than spelled out, touching on the battle scars turning normal youn...

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (7/0)
            Academy Award season is offically underway with the release of Paul Haggis' hard-hitting drama, e...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Haggis' premise becomes confused; he inadvertently seems to suggest that this war is wrong not be...

By Bill Goodykoontz of Arizona Republic (3/4) No reference
            In the Valley of Elah rises and falls on the strength of Tommy Lee Jones' performance, which is t...

By Christy Lemire of Associated Press (3/4) No reference
            This is Jones' show and he makes you feel a father's fear and loss in ways that are subtly heartb...

By Staci Layne Wilson of Buzzine Magazine (6/1) No reference
            Intelligent, absorbing, and exceedingly well-acted.

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (3/4) No reference
            An involving character piece and mystery/thriller, albeit a tad slow.

By Matt Pais of Metromix.com (6/1) No reference
            A different and devastating look at the residual effects of war, presenting the small pieces of p...

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald (3/4) No reference
            The movie isn't nearly as obvious or redundant as writer-director Paul Haggis's previous film, th...

By David Denby of New Yorker (3/4) No reference
            [Jones] gives a great, selfless, and heartbreaking performance that completely dominates this elu...

By Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger (6/1) No reference
            In the Valley of Elah is an almost painfully powerful drama.

By David Ansen of Newsweek (6/1) No reference
            The considerable power of the film is contained in Jones's hard-bitten, movingly understated perf...

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            With In the Valley of Elah writer-director Paul Haggis provides a story filled with depth, nuance...

By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (3/4) No reference
            A "very special" episode of CSI: Red State.

                         Reviews of In the Valley of Elah
By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (3/4) No reference
            It feels like a movie in search of prestige, not truth.

By Mark Dujsik of UR Chicago Magazine (6/1) No reference
            Neither affecting nor cerebral; it's a case of going through the motions.

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (3/4) Not Reachable
            The movie Haggis made and the movie Elah could have been are as far apart as Washington, D.C., an...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (5/2) Not Reachable
            Like Missing, a critique of U.S. government policy disguised as a mystery about a father searchin...

Movie Distributors
Warner Independent Pictures

Production Companies
NALA Films
BlackFriar's Bridge

Movie Studios
Warner Independent Pictures