In the Valley of Elah
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon
Director: Paul Haggis
The film: Oh, the irony - having taken home a Best Film Oscar for an under-par production, Paul Haggis now faces the ignominy of having a remarkable film being overlooked by the academy. It's a shame that In the Valley of Elah only received a best actor nomination this year - for the film shows how less is more when a director seeks to massage a political message into a film, and that it's taut storytelling and authentic characters, not contrived coincidences and explicit rhetoric, that work best.
Of course, Haggis' task is made easier this time round as the film is based on a real-life event: that of the violent death of Richard Davis, who was tortured and killed by his own co-soldiers back on American soil - just a short distance away from his camp, in fact - after returning from service in Iraq. Haggis' story was inspired by the search for truth by Lanny Davis, Richard's father and a former military police officer during the Vietnam war; his quest is conveyed on screen by the character of Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones), who undergoes a painful and painstaking investigation himself when he senses a cover-up by the military top brass.
Hank's suspicions regarding the authorities are an allegory for the general public dismay about how the war in Iraq is conducted by the tactless hawks that dominate power in Washington these days: the film's title, which refers to the place where the young David was supposed to have battled the towering Goliath, does not allude to the conflict between Americans and Iraqi insurgents; instead, the connection - as brought out by the son of local detective Emily (Charlize Theron, above with David Brochu), who was also looking into Mike Deerfield's death - is about why anyone would send a boy to such a battle.