In The Valley of Elah, Paul Haggis' 2nd film, is a definitive improvement over Crash, his controversial debut picture about racism and racial relations set in Los Angeles, which may rank among the worst Academy Award-winning movies of all time. For the most part, it avoids the over-the-top moments that became infamous in his previous work, and it seems to try to escape from moments done for shock-value alone. Still, even though it could have been worse, Mr. Haggis has failed to make a good movie.
Even his admirers admit that the Oscar-winner writer is not very subtle, but, while in Million Dollar Baby and The Flags of Our Fathers (both movies had screenplays adapted by him), Clint Eastwood managed to do great films, by, among other things, injecting minimalism and seeing beyond stereotypes, Haggis' directing lacks the capacity of making the already unexceptional screenplays work. His heavy-hand is quite clear in several moments, like in some of the scenes with Susan Sarandon (in one of her worst performances to date), and, specially, in the ending, which certainly will make some Bush and war opponents smile, but, even for most of those who were against both from the beginning (including this reviewer), the way the message is presented kills any chance of it work, with it's brutal lack of subtlety and elegance; like in Crash, Haggis not only cannot let viewers get to their own conclusions by making the the point blatantly obvious, but has to beat it in the head of the audience over and over again. Also,not unlike his first feature, what he is saying is far from being a fresh and new insight, and the writer/director ends up underrating the intelligence of the viewer, making the movie even less enjoyable.
The cast does the best they can, for the most part; while the previously mentioned Susan Sarandon disappoints, Charlize Theron delivers a solid performance as a single mother who is not respected by her fellow co-workers, and Josh Brolin and Jason Patric have smaller roles, but do a good job.
Still, if the movie has any redeeming quality, is without a doubt the magnificent work of Tommy Lee Jones. Except for Daniel Day Lewis, no actor was as important to his movie this year as he was here, but unlike the former, Jones doesn't have a masterpiece being built around him, and has to carry the movie on his own; and he actually manages to do so for most of the time, avoiding any excess that a lesser actor would commit, and making his character believable and sympathetic. While the single Oscar he received was for the Fugitive, almost 15 years ago, his two performances in 2007 (the other one was as sheriff Ed Bell in No Country For Old Men) will be the ones he'll be remembered for.
Even his admirers admit that the Oscar-winner writer is not very subtle, but, while in Million Dollar Baby and The Flags of Our Fathers (both movies had screenplays adapted by him), Clint Eastwood managed to do great films, by, among other things, injecting minimalism and seeing beyond stereotypes, Haggis' directing lacks the capacity of making the already unexceptional screenplays work. His heavy-hand is quite clear in several moments, like in some of the scenes with Susan Sarandon (in one of her worst performances to date), and, specially, in the ending, which certainly will make some Bush and war opponents smile, but, even for most of those who were against both from the beginning (including this reviewer), the way the message is presented kills any chance of it work, with it's brutal lack of subtlety and elegance; like in Crash, Haggis not only cannot let viewers get to their own conclusions by making the the point blatantly obvious, but has to beat it in the head of the audience over and over again. Also,not unlike his first feature, what he is saying is far from being a fresh and new insight, and the writer/director ends up underrating the intelligence of the viewer, making the movie even less enjoyable.
The cast does the best they can, for the most part; while the previously mentioned Susan Sarandon disappoints, Charlize Theron delivers a solid performance as a single mother who is not respected by her fellow co-workers, and Josh Brolin and Jason Patric have smaller roles, but do a good job.
Still, if the movie has any redeeming quality, is without a doubt the magnificent work of Tommy Lee Jones. Except for Daniel Day Lewis, no actor was as important to his movie this year as he was here, but unlike the former, Jones doesn't have a masterpiece being built around him, and has to carry the movie on his own; and he actually manages to do so for most of the time, avoiding any excess that a lesser actor would commit, and making his character believable and sympathetic. While the single Oscar he received was for the Fugitive, almost 15 years ago, his two performances in 2007 (the other one was as sheriff Ed Bell in No Country For Old Men) will be the ones he'll be remembered for.