In The Valley Of Elah Profile
In the Valley of Elah
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Paul Haggis
Produced by Paul Haggis Bob Hayward
Written by Paul Haggis
Starring Tommy Lee Jones Charlize Theron Jason Patric Susan Sarandon
Music by Mark Isham
Cinematography Roger Deakins
Distributed by Warner Independent
Release date(s) September 14, 2007 (limited) September 28, 2007
Running time 121 min.
Country
Language English
Budget $5 million
Gross revenue Domestic $6,766,924 Worldwide $16,069,501
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile
In the Valley of Elah is an Academy Award-nominated 2007 film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon.
Contents
1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Critical reception 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links
Plot The film tells the story of war veteran Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones), his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) and the search for their son Mike (Jonathan Tucker), a soldier who recently returned from Iraq but has mysteriously gone missing. Hank's investigation is aided by a police detective (Charlize Theron) who becomes personally involved in the case. Mike's body is found, cut to pieces and burnt. His comrades who have last seen him lie to Hank and the police. It turns out that one of them has stabbed Mike to death after an insignificant quarrel. It was caused by PTSD from the war. It is also revealed that Mike had tortured wounded Iraqis, while pretending to be a nurse.
Cast
Tommy Lee Jones ..... Hank Deerfield Charlize Theron ..... Det. Emily Sanders Jason Patric ..... Lt. Kirklander Susan Sarandon ..... Joan Deerfield James Franco ..... Sgt. Dan Carnelli Barry Corbin ..... Arnold Bickman Josh Brolin ..... Chief Buchwald Jonathan Tucker ..... Michael "Mike" Deerfield Frances Fisher ..... Eve Zoe Kazan ..... Angie
Production Although the story has been fictionalized and the names and location have been changed, the plot hews very closely to the story of Richard Davis, an Iraq War veteran murdered upon his return home in 2003. Richard Davis's father Lanny Davis, a former military police officer who mounted his own investigation into the crime like the Jones character, commented, "It's a strong movie and a good movie. And it's going to make a lot of people think." A non-fiction book about the actual murder case, by author Cilla McCain, titled Murder in Baker Company: The Forgotten Soldier is slated for publication. A documentary based on McCain's research is also scheduled to begin production in January 2008 and will be funded in part by director Paul Haggis. A 2004 report by Mark Boal in Playboy on Richard Davis's murder, entitled "Death and Dishonor", inspired Haggis. Haggis initially approached Clint Eastwood to play the part of Hank Deerfield, which Haggis had written for him. Eastwood turned it down because he didn't want to act in any more films. The film premiered September 1, 2007 at the Venice Film Festival and was later shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opened in limited release in the United States on September 14, 2007 and opened in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2008.
Critical reception As of September 16, 2007 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 84 reviews. Time magazine's Richard Corliss named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #8. Corliss praised the film as an improvement on Paul Haggis’ Oscar-winning Crash, calling it “strong in the sleuthing, sobering in its political conclusions”, and singling out Tommy Lee Jones’ performance, saying his “drained humanity anchors this excellent drama.”
Awards and nominations Haggis won an award given by the SIGNIS at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, where the film was also nominated for the Golden Lion. Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for his performance in the film. Recently, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
References
^ [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-09-11-tommy-lee-jones_N.htm]
External links
Official site In the Valley of Elah at the Internet Movie Database In the Valley of Elah at All Movie Guide In the Valley of Elah at Box Office Mojo In the Valley of Elah at Rotten Tomatoes In the Valley of Elah at Metacritic
Top 5 Search Results
In the Valley of Elah Official site for the movie In the Valley of Elah, starring Tommy Lee Jones who is in search for his soldier son who recently returned from Iraq but has mysteriously gone missing. Also starring Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon.
In the Valley of Elah (2007) Cast/character credits, trailer, user reviews, and production details about the 2007 movie In the Valley of Elah. Directed by Paul Haggis.
In the Valley of Elah When exemplary soldier Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) goes missing after returning from Iraq,his concerned parents,Hank (Tommy Lee Jones,in an Oscar-nominated role
Valley of Elah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In the Valley of Elah is the title of a 2007 film by Paul Haggis. [edit] External links ... The Valley of Elah. Porcupines, Emperors, and the New Middle East ...
In the Valley of Elah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In the Valley of Elah is an Academy Award-nominated 2007 film written and ... Paul Haggis' In The Valley of Elah is based on actual events, and explores ...
