In the Valley of Elah melds the neo-noir detective story with war (or anti-war) film. Tommy Lee Jones stars as Hank Deerfield, a retired Army lifer, a military police sergeant. Hank gets the word that his son Mike, who has followed him into the army, has returned to the US from a deployment in Iraq and gone missing. After decades as an MP, Hank is familiar with all sorts of soldier behavior and misbehavior, but his core value is duty, and Hank cannot imagine that the son he raised would desert or go AWOL. Hank gets in his truck and drives to Mike’s base to start searching for him.
Hank, as a longtime member of the US Army family, is greeted by respect and sympathy by the military – both his son’s comrades and their commanders. That lasts only as long as they are comfortable with the narrative. When the evidence veers into uncomfortable territory, they patronize and, then, stonewall Hank.
Is Mike’s disappearance a missing persons case or a murder? And which authorities have the jurisdiction – military investigators at the base or local law enforcement? Both civilian and military law enforcement have institutional reasons to avoid the case.
Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) is a local detective, mired in anyone’s definition of a hostile work environment, Her uniformly stupid colleagues shower herb with an unceasing barrage of sexual innuendo and degrading assignments. Because no one else in her department wants the case, she is able to start boring into the facts – until she, too, is stymied by the military.
From an earlier generation and steeped in the macho military culture, Hank is the farthest thing from a feminist ally. But Hanks recognizes Emily’s intelligence, determination and incorruptibility. Hank and Emily share one common value – the need to relentlessly follow the evidence to uncover the truth – no matter how inconvenient. Together, and with Hank’s insider knowledge of the Army, Hanks and Emily close in on the heartbreaking truth. Solving the mystery is not only about what happened, but who did it and why.
It’s become common for films to address the post-traumatic impact on those, warriors and civilians, who have experienced war. But In the Valley of Elah also takes on the desensitizing effects of modern anti-insurgent warfare. Today’s occupying forces are immersed in a culture and political situation they do not understand and aren’t able to identify friend from foe. They also live under pressure of daily combat and constant danger, without respite or moments of safety. The toll of those conditions can manifest in Abu Ghraib-style inhumanity – and that has happened here.
The role of Hank is a perfect for Tommy Lee Jones, he of the Mount Rushmore face. His Hank is ever-stolid and, although gut-punched by the most excruciating discoveries, never allows himself to be knocked off course.
Charlize Theron has proved herself to be an actress of uncommon versatility in The Cider House Rules, Monster, Young Adult, Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde. Here, she nails the role of Emily, tough enough to single parent her son, suffer the indignities of her job and match up with Hank. Not only the smartest person in the detective room, she’s the smartest in the whole department and needs to be wily to manage up.
In a heart-rending performance, Susan Sarandon plays Hank’s wife, who has learned long ago that she can’t dissuade Hank from any action, but who fiercely asserts her right as Mike’s mother to grieve him as she will.
Wes Chatham is excellent as one of Mike’s buddies. Frances Fisher delivers one of those indelible supporting gems as a waitress in a local topless joint.
Paul Haggis directed In the Valley of Elah, his next feature after winning the Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay Oscars for Crash. Haggis and Mark Boal co-write the screenplay based on an actual occurrence. The esteemed cinematographer Roger Deakins shot In the Valley of Elah; unsuprisingly, the nighttime scenes are especially riveting.
In the Valley of Elah can be streamed from Amazon, AppleTV and Fandango.