Sometimes finding the truth is easier than facing it.
Not currently showing on the local cinema circuit.
| Cast |
Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, Barry Corbin, Josh Brolin |
| Director |
Paul Haggis |
| Screenplay | Paul Haggis, from a story by Mark Boal |
| Music | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Roger Deakins |
| Editing | Jo Francis |
| Sound formats | Dolby Digital, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, DTS, Dolby SR |
| Soundtrack | Available |
| Made in | 2007 |
| Produced by | Blackfriars Bridge Films, NALA Films, Samuels Media, Summit Entertainment |
Official Site | IMDB page | ScreenIt Report
Trailer: Medium
| Genre | Drama, mystery |
| Language | Strong and frequent |
| Nudity | Fairly frequent, nude breasts |
| Sex | Infrequent sexual references |
| Violence | Fairly strong, some bloodiness, frequent references |
| Prejudice | None |
| Blasphemy | None |
| Drug abuse | None |
| Comments | Menacing and threatening, this investigation into the murder of a soldier makes a strong anti-war statement. |
| These details are supplied by the FPB. If you have a problem with any of the above, please take it up directly with the FPB. Read the Classification Guidelines. | |
Sex / Nudity |
Violence |
Blood / Gore / Gross |
Guns / Weapons |
Profanity |
Alcohol / Drugs |
Smoking |
Disrespectful / Bad Attitude |
Imitative Behaviour |
| Frightening / Tense Scenes |
Jump Scenes |
Tense Family Scenes |
| Music (Scary/Tense) |
Music (Inappropriate) |
Topics to talk about |
| Scale (Max) | 20 |  |
What the Critics say | ||
| Cape Argus / The Star Michael Rechtshaffen  Charlize shines in murder mystery. | 10 |  |
| Die Burger Jacques Liebenberg | 15 |  |
| Cape Times Kenneth Turan Honourable, earnest and gloomy. | 10 | |
| The Citizen Bruce Dennill The script is strong and Jones is a rock around which the rest of the piece swirls and eddies. | 15 | |
| Sunday Times Barry Ronge Gripping war drama. | 15 | |
| Chicago Sunday Times Roger Ebert The movie is about determination, doggedness, duty and the ways a war changes a man. There is no release or climax at the end, just closure. | 20 | |
| ReelViews James Berardinelli I’m not offended by Haggis’ message because I think there’s merit to it. But the ungainly manner in which it is presented doesn't do the cause any good. | 13 |  |
| Rolling Stone Peter Travers Yes, Haggis stumbles and loses focus. The haunting, heart-piercing Elah isn't perfect. It's something better: essential. | 15 | |
| ScreenIt C. Fuchs | 10 | |
| Metacritic.com 36 critics | 13 | |
| Rottentomatoes critics 126 critics | 14 | |
| Rottentomatoes tomatometer Tomatometer An engrossing murder mystery and profound antiwar statement. | 14 | |
What the People say | ||
| Internet 1334 Netizens Valley of Elah is a good Murder mystery | 16 | |
Average .. 69% | 14 | |