Movie Trailer: Paul Haggis’ In the Valley of Elah

Most people I know either loved or hated Paul Haggis’ “Crash”, although I was somewhat indifferent to it. It was a well-made film, but definitely not the “indie darling” people (especially the actors in the film) tried to make it out to be; how could it be, with that cast? But it had something good to say, and it said it well, but did it deserve all the praise and acclaim? I’m still not sure. Nevertheless, Paul Haggis’ newest film as writer/director is “In the Valley of Elah”, a true story about an Iraq War veteran who comes back from the frontlines, only to go missing; it’s now up to his retired Army father to find him with the help of a Detective played by Charlize Theron.

So what’s the movie about? Warning: SPOILERS

When a model soldier who recently returned to the U.S. from the front lines of Iraq goes AWOL, his veteran father enlists the aid of a seasoned police detective in seeking out the true fate of his son in director/screenwriter Paul Haggis’s eagerly anticipated follow up to the Oscar-winning 2004 indie-hit Crash. Inspired by a Playboy Magazine article written by Mark Boal which documented the true-life case of a retired Army veteran who discovered that his son had been killed by members of his own platoon after the troupe failed to shake battlefield mentality upon returning stateside, Haggis’ fictionalized version of the actual events stars Tommy Lee Jones as the concerned father, and Charlize Theron as the detective who vows to uncover the truth behind the Iraq War veteran’s strange disappearance. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Starring James Franco, Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, and Charlize Theron, and written and directed by Paul Haggis.

“In the Valley of Elah” enters theaters September 21, 2007.

You can see a trailer for it here. (As always, a YouTube version will be posted when it becomes available.)

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