In the Valley of Elah

I’ve always heard that Hollywood hates the war in Iraq and the U.S. military.

This film proves it beyond every reasonable doubt.

It’s scary to think that Hollywood made a film like this while our young soldiers were at the peak of the conflict in the Middle East. I can only imagine what this film did for their morale.

Everybody goes overboard to get their point across just how unjust and vile the war in Iraq is — the screenwriter, the director, and the actors.

Tommy Lee Jones pulls off a brilliant performance, using his trademark morbid expression to say over and over again just how much he hates the war, hates himself, hates the American flag, hates his own wife and son.

The first half is great. It shows the agony of war, the suffering of family members, and the horrors of our brave soldiers in combat.

These young men are thrown into chaos and expected to behave better than any senior government official in the U.S. and to set the moral standard that nobody else in America abides by.

This film is sure to be a favorite with all the draft-dodging, war-protesting Baby Boomers who despise the military and all the good things the military stands for.

The only genuine character is the lady detective, struggling to do her job in a climate of male chauvanism and outright harassment.

The second half, like what we do to bright, idealistic young men we throw into combat; slowly goes bad, very bad. In screenwriting par excellence, we are led by the nose to believe our military’s finest are guilty of a heinous murder. While, all the while, nothing tangible is said to disparage the military.

When the details of the crime come out, we are convinced that all our soldiers are walking, talking, drinking, smoking psychopaths.

At the final curtain, we agree with the whole premise of the film, that the U.S. military is indeed the Great Satan.