The acting in In the Valley of Elah is beautiful, smooth, and natural. In the Valley of Elah Synopsis. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events At the heart of it is Haggis's quietly powerful directing style and the cast's powerfully quiet performances. Watch In the Valley of Elah starring Tommy Lee Jones in this Military/War on DIRECTV. In fact, the film as a whole raises that question. Jones isn't trying to be anything at all. In the process of investigating the vanishing of his son Hank Deerfield begins to understand that the war turned soldiers into soulless cattle ready to kill ruthlessly anything that moves. But, there isn't much here other than a great performance from Tommy Lee Jones and a powerful message (which I believe succeeded). Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film … "In The Valley Of Elah" is as much a sobering study of war and its psychological effects as it is an engrossing, labyrinthine true crime piece. “Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines”, Bible, Samuel 17:19. In the Valley of Elah (2007) A police detective (Charlize Theron) helps a retired Army sergeant (Tommy Lee Jones) search for his son, a soldier who went missing soon after returning from Iraq. “Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines”, Bible, Samuel 17:19. Featured Movie News. Eastwood turned it down, despite liking the script very much, and recommended his friend Tommy Lee Jones for the role of Hank Deerfield. In the Valley of Elah is a 2007 American crime drama mystery film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon.The film's title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Goliath took place. The Story Behind New Film ‘In the Valley of Elah’ Greg Mitchell September 28, 2007. But, there isn't much here other than a great performance from Tommy Lee Jones and a powerful message (which I believe succeeded). The tale, as told in the movie, is disturbing enough. In the Valley of Elah Awards and Nominations. Post-war continues to haunt and affect people for a long time. But I did find Haggis’s direction to be good but nothing hugely special. In the Valley of Elah is a by the books murder mystery. Tommy Lee Jones’s performance is excellent though. The Week in Movie Trailers: Harrison Ford in ‘The Call of the Wild,’ Another Look at ‘Cats’ and More Read More; The Week in Movie News: ‘Star Trek 4’ Beams Up a New Director, Nicolas Cage to Play Nicolas Cage and More Post-war continues to haunt and affect people for a long time. It is intriguing just enough to keep you invested (a tad lengthy even with a 2 hr runtime). The Valley of Elah has gained new importance as a possible point of support for the argument that Israel was more than merely a tribal chiefdom in the time of King David.