IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

Director: Paul Haggis
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan  Sarandon
Run Time: 124 minutes
Country: USA
Rating: 14A (Coarse language; nudity)

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, a Special Presentation at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival®, marks director Paul Haggis‘s triumphant return to the Festival, following the extraordinary success of his first feature film, the Academy Award-winning CRASH. His astute observations regarding the wrenching social tensions that mark contemporary America and his belief in our shared humanity have once again been employed to create courageous, powerful cinema.  

This time Haggis turns his attention to one of the most explosive issues in the news today: the effects of the Iraq war on returning veterans and their families. It is an enthralling story based on actual events surrounding the disappearance of a young American soldier who was stationed in that wartorn nation. When model soldier Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker, ―Six Feet Under, HOSTAGE) mysteriously goes AWOL after returning to his hometown in New Mexico at the end of a tour on the front lines in Iraq, his career-officer father, Hank (Tommy Lee Jones, A  PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), and his mother, Joan (Susan Sarandon, ELIZABETHTOWN,  EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC), begin a search to find him. Hank enlists the aid of police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron, MONSTER, NORTH COUNTRY) in the hunt. The harrowing investigation drops a bomb on the family – Mike has been murdered. Hank becomes even more consumed with the case, desperate to find out what really happened to his son after he went out on the town with the members of his former platoon. When puzzling details are revealed about the shell-shocked young soldier's last night alive, they offer no solace – and leave an indelible mark on the family and friends who knew him.  Named for the storied location of the Biblical battle between David and Goliath, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH resonates with the hopes and fears of a generation that feels itself caught in a fight it cannot possibly win. Boasting a stellar cast, this is a moving and eloquent commentary on the sociological and psychological effects of war, a deft portrait of our times crafted by one of the most pro-vocative filmmakers in America today.

“There‘s much to admire here: a continually surprising storyline, an aversion to cliché, a gallery of characters who are neither stock heroes nor cardboard villains, and a flawless cast.” – Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Reviews: www.metacritic.com/film/titles/inthevalleyofelah