in the valley of elah

i missed this film on first release late last year
so i took the opportunity to see it at a small town theatre
tommy lee jones plays hank the father of a returned soldier
back from iraq but soon reported missing from his base
hank decides to head to the base to try and track him down
he enlists the help of a local police detective emily sanders
she is (down)played by the the beautiful charlize theron
in a believable role where her male peers treat her with disrespect
so hank and his case arrive at a time where she needs to make her mark
this story is based on fact around the murder of a returned iraq soldier
but is more about the wider problem of post traumatic stress
in evidence with many soldiers returning from duty in iraq
and given little or no support by the military back home
one can only imagine the ripple effect of such problems
which is why this film is such a valuable insight
and probably why it got such a bad reception in the u s
it really does hold up a large mirror to life in that country
there are various scenes in bars, fast food outlets and gun shops
all providing a reminder of how far off the rails american society has gone
also worked into the film are some harrowing scenes in iraq
cleverly shown as footage recorded on hank's son's mobile phone
and used by hank to piece together his son's state of mind
these scenes seem very real and thus quite disturbing
powerfully telling us what is going on in that country
therefore also explaining the post traumatic stress
which in this case leads to the brutal murder of hank's son
there were a few scenes in the film that seemed over-acted
some critics suggesting that tommy lee jones was miscast
seems his detachment and lack of emotion was unbelievable
but i thought in his ex-soldier role he acted appropriately
for me his wife (susan sarandon) was a bigger casting mistake
in a relatively minor part the actor outshone the character
and so a bit difficult to feel for the mother having lost 2 sons to war
but a minor quibble amongst some otherwise fine acting
the final scene is the unexpected coup in the film
very cleverly and simply telling the truth
that america is in big trouble over iraq
tommy lee jones for one raising the flag
and so another successful film for him
iraq - no country for american men
film-making at it's relevant best