In the Valley of Elah

After a long weekend of walks in the park and Spring cleaning, I decided to relax and watch a movie, rented by netflix of course!

The movie of choice was In the Valley of Elah, written and directed by Paul Haggins.  

The plot tells the story a man, Hank Derrfield, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who is on the search for his missing son who serves in the army and has just returned from Iraq.  After notice that his son Mike, played by Jonathan Tucker, has been the victim of a brutal murder, he is determined to find out who could have committed such a crime.  He uses past training and army experience to do what the police are failing to do.

Although the film is filled with a star-studded cast such as Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, and of course Tommy Lee Jones, it lacked the intense action it claimed to posses, and thus expecting.  

The movie is based on actual events, and explores various themes such as the war in Iraq and abuse of prisoners, which leaves the audience questioning the army's ethics.  However, after 2 hours and 7 minutes, I was not happy with the final result.   

The filmed was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007, as well as Tommy Lee Jones for best actor.  For those who enjoy a real thinker without the action, this may just be the movie for you.  Overall, I give it three out of five stars.