Fridae

The best and most haunting film of the week is undoubtedly In the Valley of Elah. Written and directed by Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), this moving drama stars Tommy Lee Jones as a father looking for his son who had served in the Iraq War and returned safely to America, only to disappear mysteriously from his military base.

The father sets out to investigate the case himself, after the military investigators prove hopeless at the job. Teaming up with a police detective (Charlize Theron), he finds clues and information which reveal the truth about his son � truths that even a father is unwilling to confront...

Tommy, who appears in almost every scene, is terrific. He delivers a convincing, pared-down performance where the slightest flicker of his eyes conveys a mountain of emotions. It is unfortunate that the Golden Globe Awards, which recently announced its nominations for 2008, overlooked this fine and measured performance. Tommy is aided by other good actors, such as Charlize as the police detective and Susan Sarandon as his wife. But it is ultimately his show, and he carries the weight of the film well.

The "Elah" in the title refers to the place where the mythological character David, a mere human, fought the gigantic Goliath and managed to defeat the latter with his humble slingshot. The question here is: Who is David and who is Goliath here? Is David supposed to be a stand-in for Iraq which has inconceivably humbled a superpower like America? Or is David supposed to be the ordinary Americans who bought into the lies of the Bush administration and must now battle its ruthless insipidity?

Whatever the answer, there's no denying the rare strength and resilience of this "war" drama.