By: debbie lynn elias
In May 2004, Playboy magazine published an article entitled “Death and Dishonor” by Mark Boal, chronicling the efforts of Retired Army Staff Sergeant Lanny Davis in his search for his son, Specialist Richard Davis, who was reported AWOL by the Army. Having just completed a tour in Iraq, Davis and his company had returned stateside to Ft. Benning, Georgia. Celebrating like any young man would do Davis and his fellow veterans hit the local Hooters followed by a visit to the strip joint, the Platinum Club, and as one can guess, the night got a bit rowdy. With a combination of bouncers, beer and the hot July air, tempers flared a bit and blowing off steam went from being directed at barmaids and bouncers to each other. It wasn’t long after evening’s end at Waffle House that the boys piled into a car, speeding off into the starlit night. July 16, 2003 was the last time anyone saw Richard Davis.
Enter Oscar winning screenwriter Paul Haggis, the first person in Oscar history to pen back-to-back Oscar winning films. Touched and moved, Haggis knew this was a story that had to be told. Fictionalizing fact with a change of location from the red clay of Georgia to the desert of New Mexico, adding the civilian/military jurisdictional conflict, military cover-up and adding other actual PTSD events reported by war vets, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH was born.
Hank Deerfield is as patriotic as one can get. Although retired from a lifetime of service in the Army as an MP, he is still as Army as Army can be. From spit polish shoes to sharp creases on his pants and shirt sleeves to toiletries immaculately set out on the bathroom sink to his morning push-ups, he lives by ingrained rote, regulation and honor. His wife Joan is a no fuss, no nonsense Army wife. Comfortable with each other after 30 years of marriage, there is little verbal communication between the two. They know each other that well. They have two sons. Both followed in their father’s footsteps and joined the Army. The eldest was killed in combat. Their youngest, Mike, is currently in Iraq near Baghdad. Hank and Joan have a good life, a quiet life, a simple life, a life steeped in honor and tradition and respect for this great nation and her fight for freedom around the globe. But all that changes when Hank gets a phone call from Army brass advising him Mike is AWOL.
Knowing that there must be a mistake, Hank sets out from his Tennessee home driving non-stop to Mike’s base in Fort Rudd, New Mexico. Met with plasticine pleasantries and respect from CO Sgt. Carnelli and Mike’s roommate Bonner, Davis knows he is getting the runaround. Not permitted to take any of his son’s possessions, but only “glance” in the drawers and closet, Davis wastes no time in starting his own investigation right under their noses. First a little comment about the Bible in Mike’s drawer (His mother gave it to him. The audience however sees it is nothing more than standard hotel issue, not a family keepsake.), and then surreptitiously snaking Mike’s cell phone that is just laying in the drawer. (And just how many people would have their phone in a drawer with socks and underwear particularly when just back home and out checking out the babes?)
Concurrently we are introduced to the local police department. Detective Emily Sanders is the lone gal on the force amidst a bunch of good ol’ boys. Harassed by her colleagues and accused of sleeping her way to her current position, she struggles to make a difference and do some real police work, but all she gets are crappy and comedic cases, particularly those with animal themes. She is also at odds over jurisdictional issues between the military and local police when it comes to complaints from Army wives about domestic violence. A base incident, in a base home, it’s out of her hands. Which is the same response she gives to Hank Deerfield when he arrives at the station wanting to file a missing person’s report on his son. Undeterred, Hank Deerfield dogs Sanders, determined to locate his son. And Sanders is just as adamant as Deerfield, in refusing to assist him, that is until a dismembered burned body turns up in a field and that body turns out to be that of Mike Deerfield. An unlikely pair, Sanders and Deerfield team up for what becomes one of the most fascinating and complex murder mysteries to hit the big screen in a long time.
Known for his strong tacit presence, Tommy Lee Jones is Hank Deerfield. Impeccable and meticulous, his no nonsense style bodes well here and brings the man and the story to life. With the most expressive eyes, Jones conveys a father’s heartache with just a look. You can feel his pain and his frustration as he is forced to question a lifetime of beliefs. Charlize Theron is chameleonic as Emily Sanders. In what is another Oscar caliber performance, Theron is compelling. Hard nosed on the outside, she gives Sanders a humanizing vulnerability. The most interesting aspect of the character, however, is in her relationship with Jones’ Deerfield. Their interplay brings a sense of self-worth and humanity to Sanders that Theron sells with heart and grit. Her emotional transformation as the investigation proceeds is itself fascinating to watch. Susan Sarandon makes the most of her 5 minutes of screen time, packing a lifetime into Joan Deerfield with such impact and precision that one feels as if you’ve known this woman your entire life. There is no need for extensive backstory to create Joan. Sarandon is one of the few actresses who can convey a lifetime of experience with just the wringing of her hands or the wrenching of a telephone cord. And her chemistry with Tommy Lee Jones, established so well years ago in “The Client”, is an evident ease. And take special note of Frances Fisher as topless barmaid with a heart Evie.
But the supporting performances to note come from Iraq war veterans, Jake McLaughlin, Wes Chatham and Sean Huze as Sgt. Penning, Corporal Bonner and Captain Osher, respectively. McLaughlin makes his acting debut having served in the Army in Iraq earning 8 medals as an expert marksman. Depicted in “Solider of Fortune” in 2003, he was also in the unit with reporter David Bloom who died in Iraq. As Bonner, he brings a naivete and innocence to the character that tugs at your heart and sends home the message of the emotional problems our soldiers are facing. Chatham who had the acting bug before entering the Navy, takes on his biggest role to date as cold calculating Sgt. Penning. Sean Huze began his acting career in children’s theater, however, immediately after 9/11, he gave up on his dream, finding a higher purpose, and joined the Marine Corps. Featured in the documentary “The Ground Truth” which focuses on PTSD and today’s troops, on leaving the Corps, Huze began a journey to inform the American public as to the problems facing today’s soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the problems with the military and the VA system. Praising Haggis for using real events and incorporating actual PTSD cases into the story, according to Huze, “These are real issues. 1.6 million American men and women have rotated in and out of Iraq and are now hitting a VA system that can’t handle them. I think a film like this [is] getting people to recognize what’s going on.” And for the record, according to Wes Chatham, despite all their military training, first day on the set, “Tommy Lee Jones scared me. He pulls you into the scene. He is so truthful and makes you believe it.” Jake McLaughlin called the experience, “Surreal.”
Looking to Clint Eastwood for help in getting this film made, Haggis takes the Davis story, blends it with those of other returning vets and the PTSD/VA problem with 21st century way and then turns it all into an anti-war murder mystery. Thanks to use of subtle (a techno-geek named “Gabriel”) and some not-so-subtle imagery (the flying of the American flag upside down), he doesn’t hit us over the head, but draws us into the complexities of today’s world and military, bubbling emotion to explosive temperatures. Interweaving the investigation from military and civilian standpoints, he lets the story tell itself, creating an intriguing eloquent textured tapestry.
From a directing standpoint, while not every shot works, the majority are provocatively and profoundly dramatic and impactful.
In 1st Samuel, chapter 17 of the Bible, the battle between David and Goliath takes place 3000 years ago in the Valley of Elah when the boy David, with only 5 stones as weapons, is sent in to face the indominable giant Goliath. It is a tale about facing and defeating impossible odds. IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH is our 21st century story of the impossible odds that we as Americans and our soldiers now face.
Hank Deerfield – Tommy Lee Jones
Emily Sanders – Charlize Theron
Joan Deerfield – Susan Sarandon
Sgt. Dan Carnelli – James Franco
Written and directed by Paul Haggis. Rated R. (121 min)
