In the Valley of Elah (2007)

Director:

Paul Haggis

Writers (WGA):

Paul Haggis (screenplay)
Mark Boal (story) ...

Release Date:

28 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes finding the truth is easier than facing it.

Plot:

A career officer and his wife work with a police detective to uncover the truth behind their son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Whiskey | Apology | Hanged Body | Military

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Hank Deerfield
Charlize Theron	...	Det. Emily Sanders
Jason Patric	...	Lt. Kirklander
Susan Sarandon	...	Joan Deerfield
James Franco	...	Sgt. Dan Carnelli
Barry Corbin	...	Arnold Bickman
Josh Brolin	...	Chief Buchwald
Frances Fisher	...	Evie
Wes Chatham	...	Corporal Steve Penning
Jake McLaughlin	...	Spc. Gordon Bonner
Mehcad Brooks	...	Spc. Ennis Long
Jonathan Tucker	...	Mike Deerfield
Wayne Duvall	...	Detective Nugent
Victor Wolf	...	Private Robert Ortiez
Brent Briscoe	...	Detective Hodge

Also Known As:

Death and Dishonor (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and disturbing content, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | USA:R | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | Japan:PG-12 | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Canada:14A | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Blackfriars Bridge Films

Trivia:

Josh Brolin replaced Tim McGraw in the role of Chief Buchwald.

Goofs:

Continuity: If you follow closely Det. Emily Sanders' car plate, one scene shows the plate, another does not and so on.

Quotes:

Chief Buchwald: [calling Emily Sanders] Remember the woman with the dead dog?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-04-02)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Caprichio

Will Iraq's "Goliath" finally slay America's "David"???

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH you feel the anguish, the anger and the pain of what this dreadful war in Iraq has done to American families and our soldiers. ELAH is a powerful film from the brilliant Director Paul Haggis that drives home on the screen in a magnificent performance from Tommy Lee Jones the fear a father may have in the loss of his son and how this war is being played out in the small towns of America where a family wonders if a man, or woman, might return home safe, or in a body bag. Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon with a solid cast bring home the horror of Iraq in a film that is today's war in the Middle East. I can only hope that at Kudo time this well directed and written film will find itself on the list of nominated films. Bravo Paul Haggis for giving us another film to root for as we did with CRASH.