In the Valley of Elah
Short description
Hank Deerfield, a retired military police officer, learns that his son Mike has gone missing soon after returning to the United States from a tour in Iraq. When Mike fails to report back to his unit, Hank travels to the New Mexico base where his son was stationed, while his wife Joan stays behind. The military and local authorities show little interest in the case, so Hank begins looking into it himself, aided by Detective Emily Sanders, who works in the jurisdiction where Mike was last seen. As evidence builds, questions arise about what happened to Mike during his deployment and about the response of the military establishment.
Paul Haggis directed the film and wrote its screenplay, following his earlier work on Crash. Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank, with Charlize Theron as Sanders and Susan Sarandon as Joan. The large credited cast and crew point to a substantial production, and the film was made for about 23 million US dollars, earning roughly 30 million worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds a critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 163 reviews, while on TMDB users give it 6.8 out of 10 from more than 1,100 votes, a modest but consistent reception. It sits between Haggis's Crash and The Next Three Days in his filmography.
What's left behind the scenes
- Due to the provocative nature of the subject matter, Haggis found it very difficult to "get" the project off the ground. He was helped by Clint Eastwood, whom Paul had dreamed of casting as Hank.
- The film is based on Mark Boal's article "Death and Dishonor" published in Playboy magazine, which told a story that Haggis transferred to the screen with practically no changes.
- Some of the actors who played soldiers (Wes Chatham, Jake McLaughlin, Sean Hues) actually served in Iraq.
- The film is based on the real case of serviceman Richard Davis, who returned from a deployment in Iraq and disappeared. His father, who dedicated 20 years of his life to military service, began his own investigation. It turned out that Davis was killed by four fellow soldiers. They were sentenced to imprisonment: two to life, one for 20 years, and another for 5 years.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
