Film
Reviews T-HAE'I OSAVAGES
.‘ (15)114min O...
OF ELAH battle with Goliath, are explained in the context of a
(15) 121mm .. child‘s bedtime story as in Crash, while scenes detailing Theron‘s ongoing battles against prejudice in the
Having had his projects garlanded with Oscars for workplace could have been lifted verbatim from the writing (Million Dollar Baby) and direction (Crash), the same film. When he’s not ripping off his own work. wheels finally come off the Paul Haggis bandwagon Haggis‘ firm grasp of a police procedural keeps things " .' :.- : : - " :' with In The Valley of Elah, a well-acted but deathly dull moving along, but In The Valley of Elah's rigour only ' ' ' military drama which trivialises issues connected with serves to paint a dour picture of patriotism-gone-sour. I the Iraq war. The presence of Jones, Josh Brolin and ' Tommy Lee Jones stars as gruff ex-soldier Hank cinematographer Roger Deakins will inevitably spark Deerfield, whose marriage to Joan (Susan Sarandon) is comparisons with the Coen brothers‘ similarly-themed interrupted when his son is reported AWOL on return No Country For Old Men, but there‘s simply no from a tour of duty in Iraq. With the help of tough police comparison. Where the Coens create dark comedy, detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), Deerfield dreamlike poetry and a thoughtful consideration of the launches his own investigation, finding valuable clues role of fate in our lives, Haggis has nothing to offer but among the harrowing images of war he finds on his glib TV movie moralising and woolly liberal posturing son‘s mobile phone. But Hank‘s pursuit of the truth also about how awful war is. Bookended with crudely uncovers a few truths about Iraq, a reality of torture and symbolic scenes in which Jones explains how to fly an cruelty that suggests his old school sense of military American flag in times of emergency, Haggis' monotone honour is badly out of joint with the modern world. drama doesn't signify anything more resonant than a Despite top-notch acting all round, Haggis‘ film feels failure of imagination on the part of the filmmakers. suspiciously like reheated leftovers; the biblical (Eddie Harrison) allusions of the title, recalling the setting for David’s I (,1: w - . " ~
ALI'E'Nsmvs PREDA‘I’OR - REQUIEM (15) 86min 0
38 THE LIST ‘ ' .