"In the Valley of Elah", "Redacted"
Written by Kam Williams   
Friday, February 29, 2008

In the Valley of Elah

 Image
When Spc. Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) goes AWOL soon after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq, his father, (Tommy Lee Jones), a retired military man, decides to join the search. Bidding adieu to his anguished wife (Susan Sarandon), Hank drives from Tennessee to New Mexico in a panic, fearful because their only other child already perished in a helicopter crash while serving in the 82nd Airborne.

Upon his arrival at the base, he’s disappointed to discover that the officer in charge of missing persons (Jason Patric) is an inept pencil-pusher with little street savvy. Looking for clues on his own, Hank finds himself frequently frustrated by the less than cooperative members of Mike’s unit.

Ultimately, his rescue mission turns into a recovery effort when a charred body is found chopped to pieces on an empty lot. Although the military brass assumes jurisdiction and quickly dub Mike’s murder drug-related in a rush to judgment, former MP Hank is savvy enough to smell a bureaucratic cover-up.

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, profanity, violence and disturbing content.

Running time: 121 minutes.

So, he enlists the help of the local police and finds a sympathetic ear in Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron). The two team up to fill in the pieces of the grisly puzzle, and that determined effort is meticulously chronicled in this whodunit crafted as a subtle indictment of the American invasion of Iraq.

Other than its annoying profusion of red herrings, this tortoise-paced picture is noteworthy only for squandering the services of Susan Sarandon, Charlize Theron and Tommy Lee Jones, his Oscar nomination notwithstanding.

Postwar is hell!

Redacted

 Image
Brian De Palma is the latest moviemaker eager to foist a heavy-handed anti-war picture on the public, and frankly some of these shrill screeds are starting to look silly. Shot pseudo-documentary style, but based on actual events, the film is essentially a loosely connected series of montages revolving around a squad of six GIs manning a roadside checkpoint in Iraq.

The explanation for our being afforded an intimate peek at the soldiers’ mental mindset is that one of them, Angel (Izzy Diaz), has taken to videotaping their day-to-day lives with a hand-held camcorder. 

The plot thickens when two GIs (guess who?) become depraved enough to rape a 14-year-old. However, the sexual assault goes horribly wrong and leads to their not only murdering the girl but her entire family, as well. Of course, the good ol’ boys responsible cover up the atrocity and prove quite capable of returning to the posts, business as usual, thereby delivering the sobering message that America’s Generation Kill sees the Iraqis they came to save as somewhat less than human.

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for disturbing images, violence, rape, pervasive profanity, ethnic slurs and sexual references.

In English and French with subtitles.

Running time: 90 minutes.

Unfortunately, “Redacted” is so laughably unconvincing at every turn that it looks more like a student film in progress than a legit feature. Perhaps De Palma was too blinded by his undoubtedly fervent feelings about the Bush administration’s bungling of the invasion and occupation to make an honest appraisal of his message movie’s abundance of technical flaws.

Regardless, this unfortunate outing is destined to leave an embarrassing blemish on the legendary director’s generally stellar body of work.