...doesn’t begin or end particularly well, but what is in the middle is strong enough to easily keep one captivated.
Once the credits rolled, I found myself entertained and easily saw why Tommy Lee Jones earned an Oscar nomination for his performance. At the time of writing this review, the Oscar was handed out to Daniel Day Lewis and while I think Jones´ performance wasn´t as strong as Lewis´, it was a solid performance for the veteran actor. The slow reveal of what happened to Michael Deerfield worked nicely and the steps taken to unravel the mystery were sure steps, but I do feel the film stumbled when the man responsible for the murder of the youngest Deerfield was revealed. It wasn´t a bad ending, but "In the Valley of Elah" is one of those movies that doesn´t begin or end particularly well, but what is in the middle is strong enough to easily keep one captivated.
Video:
Warner Bros. presents "In the Valley of Elah" in a detailed and colorful looking Blu-ray disc. The film is mastered with Microsoft´s VC-1 codec and shown at 2.4:1 with the full 1080p resolution available. Detail in "In the Valley of Elah" is strong. The weathered and aged face of Tommy Lee Jones shows all of its flaws and the perfect complexion of Charlize Theron is on display for all to see. The film does possess a minor sheen of film grain throughout its running length due to the method of cinematography, but the film is strong in the detail department. Coloring is altered stylistically and the palette exhibits desaturated colors that are overblown in contrast. Whites are overly bright and skin tones are lighter than natural with the contrasting of the film. The source materials used to bring the film onto Blu-ray are clean and no digital flaws are present to mar the picture. Paul Haggis didn´t intend "In the Valley of Elah" to compete with the overprocessed and polished films churned out today. He wanted a picture that had less of an emphasis on visuals and more on the story and this is apparent with the visual presentation of the film.
Sound:
Four language tracks are provided for "In the Valley of Elah." Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is supported for English, French and Spanish languages. However, the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is the recommended way to watch this film and while the movie is front-heavy in its soundtrack, the mix is clear. There are moments when sound is permitted to bleed to the rear channels, but so much of "In the Valley of Elah" is dialogue-centric that the soundtrack isn´t given a lot of room to impress. Even scenes that take place in noisy dance clubs and strip bars do not push the envelope much. The .1 LFE channel comes to life very rarely. This is simply a thin sounding film because of limited opportunity and for long stretches of time; the film sounds more like a very clean stereo soundtrack. Dialogue is very clean, but this isn´t a movie to show off one´s home theater rig and the TrueHD format.
Extras:
Two supplements are provided for "In the Valley of Elah." Under "Behind the Story," the In the Valley of Elah: Documentary is broken down into two parts. In the Valley of Elah: After Irag (27:41) spends a little time with its supporting cast as they receive military training to learn to be proper soldiers with military advisor Jim Dever. The documentary talks to Paul Haggis as he discusses how he wanted the military aspect of the film to be believable and accurate. This was interesting, but having went through 11B basic training, I wasn´t too impressed with the military aspect of it. The second half, In the Valley of Elah: Coming Home (15:24) looks at post-traumatic stress disorder and how this concept worked its way into the film. This too wasn´t a bad little video documentary and worked well with the first half of the making of documentary. I enjoyed the fact this wasn´t a cookie-cutter documentary as so many others were.
The Additional Scene (7:51) is the final supplement on the Blu-ray disc and looks at Hank looking around for more information on his lost son and not realizing that Jennifer Lopez being his son´s girlfriend was and worked to fit a little pop culture humor with the sad realization that Lopez is a girl that actually exists, but is a multiple amputee. This additional subplot does add a little to the story, but it doesn´t quite fit the film and only feels like something purposely created to guilt the audience with feeling bad about laughing at Tommy Lee Jones trying to find Jennifer Lopez. The additional collection of scenes that form this subplot are good to watch, but they deserved to be cut.
Closing Comments:
I enjoyed "In the Valley of Elah" and applaud Tommy Lee Jones for another masterful acting job. The film isn´t the ensemble masterpiece that was Haggis´ previous film "Crash," but it is a thought provoking piece that looks into the controversial topic of how war shapes and forms young impressionable minds and gives fuel to the fires of those who are anti-war in beliefs. I won´t say this is an anti-war film, as it does raise serious issues and has the audience look more at the soldiers than the conflict in which they fought. The story begins and ends in a manner that isn´t as strong as what comes between the opening and closing titles, but Jones, Theron and Sarandon make up for the film´s shortcomings. "In the Valley of Elah" is not a picture to flaunt for technology and while the Blu-ray title is technically sound, it doesn´t offer up particularly strong visuals and sound because of the filmmaker´s stylistic choices. Jones fans will want to take note of this film, but for others it might be a tougher sell.
Video:
Warner Bros. presents "In the Valley of Elah" in a detailed and colorful looking Blu-ray disc. The film is mastered with Microsoft´s VC-1 codec and shown at 2.4:1 with the full 1080p resolution available. Detail in "In the Valley of Elah" is strong. The weathered and aged face of Tommy Lee Jones shows all of its flaws and the perfect complexion of Charlize Theron is on display for all to see. The film does possess a minor sheen of film grain throughout its running length due to the method of cinematography, but the film is strong in the detail department. Coloring is altered stylistically and the palette exhibits desaturated colors that are overblown in contrast. Whites are overly bright and skin tones are lighter than natural with the contrasting of the film. The source materials used to bring the film onto Blu-ray are clean and no digital flaws are present to mar the picture. Paul Haggis didn´t intend "In the Valley of Elah" to compete with the overprocessed and polished films churned out today. He wanted a picture that had less of an emphasis on visuals and more on the story and this is apparent with the visual presentation of the film.
Sound:
Four language tracks are provided for "In the Valley of Elah." Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is supported for English, French and Spanish languages. However, the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is the recommended way to watch this film and while the movie is front-heavy in its soundtrack, the mix is clear. There are moments when sound is permitted to bleed to the rear channels, but so much of "In the Valley of Elah" is dialogue-centric that the soundtrack isn´t given a lot of room to impress. Even scenes that take place in noisy dance clubs and strip bars do not push the envelope much. The .1 LFE channel comes to life very rarely. This is simply a thin sounding film because of limited opportunity and for long stretches of time; the film sounds more like a very clean stereo soundtrack. Dialogue is very clean, but this isn´t a movie to show off one´s home theater rig and the TrueHD format.
Extras:
Two supplements are provided for "In the Valley of Elah." Under "Behind the Story," the In the Valley of Elah: Documentary is broken down into two parts. In the Valley of Elah: After Irag (27:41) spends a little time with its supporting cast as they receive military training to learn to be proper soldiers with military advisor Jim Dever. The documentary talks to Paul Haggis as he discusses how he wanted the military aspect of the film to be believable and accurate. This was interesting, but having went through 11B basic training, I wasn´t too impressed with the military aspect of it. The second half, In the Valley of Elah: Coming Home (15:24) looks at post-traumatic stress disorder and how this concept worked its way into the film. This too wasn´t a bad little video documentary and worked well with the first half of the making of documentary. I enjoyed the fact this wasn´t a cookie-cutter documentary as so many others were.
The Additional Scene (7:51) is the final supplement on the Blu-ray disc and looks at Hank looking around for more information on his lost son and not realizing that Jennifer Lopez being his son´s girlfriend was and worked to fit a little pop culture humor with the sad realization that Lopez is a girl that actually exists, but is a multiple amputee. This additional subplot does add a little to the story, but it doesn´t quite fit the film and only feels like something purposely created to guilt the audience with feeling bad about laughing at Tommy Lee Jones trying to find Jennifer Lopez. The additional collection of scenes that form this subplot are good to watch, but they deserved to be cut.
Closing Comments:
I enjoyed "In the Valley of Elah" and applaud Tommy Lee Jones for another masterful acting job. The film isn´t the ensemble masterpiece that was Haggis´ previous film "Crash," but it is a thought provoking piece that looks into the controversial topic of how war shapes and forms young impressionable minds and gives fuel to the fires of those who are anti-war in beliefs. I won´t say this is an anti-war film, as it does raise serious issues and has the audience look more at the soldiers than the conflict in which they fought. The story begins and ends in a manner that isn´t as strong as what comes between the opening and closing titles, but Jones, Theron and Sarandon make up for the film´s shortcomings. "In the Valley of Elah" is not a picture to flaunt for technology and while the Blu-ray title is technically sound, it doesn´t offer up particularly strong visuals and sound because of the filmmaker´s stylistic choices. Jones fans will want to take note of this film, but for others it might be a tougher sell.
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