HAT TRICK???

Paul Haggis has only made 3 movies. His first, Million Dollar Baby, won the Oscar for best movie. His second, Crash, won the Oscar for best movie. His third, In the valley of Elah, shows no sign of breaking with tradition. He does what every good director should do; tell a story well, and draw brilliant performances from your cast. While the two backdrops for this movie are a murder mystery and the war in Iraq, the real story is the effect of war on a first world society. This is an american interpretation of war and its effects, but could easily have been seen through Western European eyes, and to a lesser extent, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, or African eyes. To his and the movies credit, Haggis doesn't take a left-wing or right-wing poltical stand on war, but make no mistake, the effects of any war are the end results of much politicking. And this is the point he drives home with this movie. War impacts on those serving, those left behind at home, those young, and those old. In the same way Haggis' social commentary on racism and race relations succeeded in Crash, he exploits a war's effects on society in "In the valley of Elah". Some of Haggis' work here may seem a bit too obvious, but that can be forgiven for the moments of character-revealing genius he draws from the highest quality ensemble. Thus far this year, I have not seen better.

9/10