CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 09/14/07

Giants Taking on Giants

By peter clines

Based on a chilling true story, this new film from the screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby takes a cold, hard look at what long deployments and the terror of war are doing to our troops, and just as importantly, what it does to their families back home. It's political commentary wrapped in a murder mystery, as told by a master.

In the Valley of Elah

Screenplay by Paul Haggis (also directed)
Story by Mark Boal and Paul Haggis
Based on Boal's article "Death and Dishonor"

Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) is woken by a phone call that baffles him with the news that his son, Mike (Jonathan Tucker), has been home from Iraq for almost a week and has gone AWOL. When the retired staff sergeant and former military policeman drives to Fort Rudd to join in the search for his missing son, he discovers that Mike's squad mates think he's just gone to blow off some steam, the MP's are willing to agree, and the local police are more than content to pass the case off as a military matter. But mystery turns to tragedy when a burned and dismembered corpse is found and identified as Mike's body. As the military and the police display increasing degrees of incompetence and indifference, Hank begins his own investigation with help from an idealistic detective (Charlize Theron) trying to prove herself on the all-male police force. As the two piece together clues, the picture of a cold and brutal murder begins to take shape. Perhaps even more disturbing, however, is the unavoidable image Hank discovers of the very different man his son had become.

The latest work from Oscar-winner Paul Haggis (Crash), In the Valley of Elah is almost a direct parallel of the events surrounding the 2003 death of specialist Richard Davis, first detailed by journalist Mark Boal in an article for Playboy. Haggis has distilled the details of the story to create a purer, more universal tale (for full details on his process of adapting and fictionalizing the story, and his struggle to bring it to the big screen, see the September/October issue of Creative Screenwriting).

On one level, this is a basic crime drama. Hank is a solitary man fighting a cover-up and seeking the reasons behind his son's death. Like a dry, modern-day Sherlock Holmes, his years of experience as an MP let him pick up on the clues resting in plain sight and make the simple, logical jumps that make other characters look and feel foolish. It's this simple and classic form that gives the screenplay its structure and drives the film forward. Haggis stays true to his characters, and keeping with Hank's "classic loner" character, there are just as many terse and silent scenes in his investigation as there are expositional ones.

Much like the title suggests, though, at heart this is a story about standing your ground and squaring off against monsters (according to the Bible, Elah is the valley where young David fought and killed the Philistine Goliath). Almost every character has both an internal and an external "giant" to deal with, some only metaphorical and some all too real. Hank is quite literally one man taking on the U.S. Army, at a point in history when daring to question "our troops" is tantamount to treason. Moreso, however, he is driven by the awful thought that he could've helped his son avoid this fate, and may on some level be responsible. Just as important as who did this to Mike is the question of how Mike became this man Hank keeps hearing about.

And this is what really sets Elah apart from other war films this fall. While many films will highlight the battles and conflicts soldiers face in Iraq, these are only background for Haggis' tale. The real issue here is the long-term affects those battles have on the troops, both on the battlefield and when they return home to their loved ones. The picture Haggis paints is a grim and powerful one, especially considering the factual canvas beneath it.

In the Valley of Elah hits home by focusing not on the soldiers, but on the role so many of us are more familiar with: the family and friends. A moving tale about the changes brought about by war and the people responsible for them, directly or indirectly, the questions it asks will stay with audiences long after the mystery it solves.

In the Valley of Elah
Warner Independent Pictures
Rated R; 121 min.

Buy tickets now

Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

In the Valley of Elah courtesy Warner Independent Pictures

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