
Flicks, Andreas Heinemann
In the Valley of Elah sees acclaimed screenwriter Paul Haggis, the man responsible for penning Oscar winners Crash and Million Dollar Baby in consecutive years, undertake his most high profile and big budget directorial effort to date. His topic is the current conflict in the Middle East and how it has affected members of the American military who have served there, namely a father searching for his AWOL son. The film is concerned with the social issues of war that extend into the lives of those back home for whom the war is ostensibly being fought, rather than the more standard ‘war is hell’ depiction of the battle zone itself. This approach is the reason behind both the strengths and weaknesses of the film.
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