In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis, 2007)

In Crash, Paul Haggis had a go at tackling the pickle of racism and was awarded a Best Picture Oscar for it. With In the Valley of Elah he turns to the Iraq war, a topic less palatable for the Academy voters' consumption, and accordingly misses out on the prize. This is a shame, as Haggis should garner recognition for his consistency: the film is every bit as lunk-headedly earnest as Crash, pushing kneejerk buttons over misplaced patriotism and the dehumanisation of the combatants, but rarely saying anything illuminating about either aspect.
It doesn't help that it uses the plot framework of an investigative thriller as a crutch, with Tommy Lee Jones as the father of a missing soldier trying to establish what happened to his son, or that Charlize Theron has to be wedged in there as the one cop who'll help him. Another director might have thrown caution to the wind to hit the target head on and for once presented America's grubby wars as wrong in themselves rather than just because American boys come back mentally scarred, but Haggis is not that brave.
Jones is very good here, conveying denial, wounded pride and pain with some subtlety. It's a performance frustratingly wasted amidst the stodge.

5/10