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‘Valley of Elah’: Military murder in the wake of Iraq
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the fall film season’s first Oscar contenders - the Iraq War-tinged drama “In the Valley of Elah” - is loosely “inspired” by the 2003 stateside killing of returning vet Richard R. Davis, 24, near Fort Benning, Ga.
Moviegoers should take the word inspired literally. The resulting fictional film - the title refers to the biblical site where David slew Goliath - bears little resemblance to the Georgia case.
Names have been changed. Characters have been dreamed up. Georgia is never even mentioned. And the whole thing was filmed mostly in New Mexico.
But the R-rated “Elah,” which debuts in theaters Sept. 21 and stars Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron, is one in a string of coming dramas that explores or questions U.S. policy in Iraq or deals with counterterrorism. Among others: “The Kingdom” with Jamie Foxx, “Grace is Gone” starring John Cusack, “Redacted” directed by Venice Film Festival winner Brian De Palma and “Stop-Loss” with Ryan Phillippe.
“Elah” wonders about the resulting psychological effects on returning soldiers. As one young soldier says to Jones, who plays a Tennessee father searching for answers in the disappearance and brutal murder and dismemberment of his soldier son, “They shouldn’t send heroes to Iraq … They should just nuke it and turn it all back to dust.”
Sarandon plays Jones’ wife and Theron portrays a New Mexico police detective investigating the case.
Here’s what moviegoers will likely be talking about when “Elah” opens:
The Oscars already won: The talent possesses a slew of Academy Awards. The film is written and directed by double winner Paul Haggis (“Crash”) and Jones (“The Fugitive”), Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) and Theron (“Monster”) have one acting Oscar each. The closing song comes from Annie Lennox, who shared the best song Oscar for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” Among recognizable castmembers: Jason Patric, James Franco, Barry Corbin, Frances Fisher and Josh Brolin.
The corpses: There are graphic depictions of the scattered remains of Jones’ murdered, dismembered and burned soldier son. Plus there’s a sub-plot killing with a female corpse that will likely remind some of “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Fathers and sons; mothers and sons: While the film’s lynchpin is a mystery surrounding the soldier killing, much of the story’s depth comes not only from moral questions surrounding the U.S. presence in Iraq but from connections the characters make as parents.
The not-so-subtle imagery: To sledgehammer his point of the effect of Iraq, Haggis twice employs scenes of a U.S. flag being shown upside down - an official signal of extreme distress.
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