Let's be realistic.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

OK, but could have been a lot better. What should have a decent murder- mystery and human drama is sidetracked and eroded by the writer/director's clear enthusiasm to make an anti-war movie. Now, Paul Haggis is a good director (see Crash) and even better writer (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Crash), but by deciding to add an anti-war slant he diluted his efforts. In order to accommodate this stance, plot holes developed and the movie became contrived and clichéd. While the ending should have been an emotional one, I ended up feeling betrayed and disappointed.Solid performances.

In Munro, Tennessee, hard-nosed former military police Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) receives a call that his son Mike is missing after returning from Iraq and soon to be declared AWOL. He and his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) had already lost a son to war. He travels to Fort Rudd, New Mexico. Local police detective (Charlize Theron) is overwhelmed by troubled vets and hazing from fellow cops. Mike's burnt dismembered body is soon found on military property. It becomes a fight over jurisdiction and road blocks from superiors.This is some of Paul Haggis' best work. It's a bleak portrait. Tommy Lee Jones is great at this type of hard-nosed man. Theron's struggles as a working single mom is compelling. The murder mystery is stark. It's not really a whodunnit mystery which makes the ending fitting. The dark take on the Iraq campaign does overwhelm at times especially the reveal at the end. Haggis takes a couple of parting shots at the end that are probably unnecessary. By that time, the point has already been made.

Unlike many films based around the Iraqi War, In the Valley of Elah is not really a political-based movie at all and is more of a thorough murder mystery. If one doesn't pay enough attention, people may view the film as pacifist or anti-military. But on a closer look, this film is a fascinating study on the human condition of soldiers as they return to the homefront after a brutal war. In that aspect, this film is emotional as any and perhaps this will bring light to everyone's eyes. As the film itself, it is incredibly well-made and the acting is fantastic starting with the ever-great Tommy Lee Jones.Paul Haggis, the director known for 2005's Best Picture Winner Crash, directs a film about a Vietnam veteran named Hank Greenfield who finds out his son has returned from overseas, but has not been home yet. When Hank goes out to search for his son, he uncovers something much more than he had bargained for.The acting is excellent. The film plays to the strength of Tommy Lee Jones's personality. A grumpy man who rarely smiles and as always, Jones blasts his performance out of the water. Charlize Theron does a good job as the cop who is working alongside Jones. Susan Sarandon is great as the grieving wife of Jones. We also have some good cameos by James Franco and Josh Brolin.Overall, In the Valley of Elah is a smart, well-scripted drama/mystery film. It may seen anti-war at first, but it's just a study on the psychological mess soldiers suffer. It's not propaganda, it's just the truth. I understood what Haggis was trying to say, unlike many people who take the message out of proportion. It's very powerful and it will pack a heavy punch with your emotions, so be prepared. It's not for light-viewing, but it uses a powerful story to deliver the message. I rate this film 10/10.

The film has the core qualities of a good movie: Good story/plot, good actors and acting, nice directing/shooting of the story etc. - Yet what unfortunately slowly kills the overall enjoyment of the otherwise good movie is the Extremely Slow Pace, by which you have to be very, very patient in general to not let this bother you. It simply drags down the movie by taking So Much Time to move the story along.While I do appreciate the gradual and patient character development, as well as the mature and slow unfolding of the story - allowing for a greater appreciation of the actual feelings and considerations of the characters - I do feel that the director Paul Haggis has slowed it Too much down unfortunately - for me anyway. But if you do like crime and mystery stories in general, it's not a bad movie, just very slow paced.