indeed and a very touching and captivating film . at first thought and this film flash out like a who dun it thriller and but it gradually dawn on me that the smoke out of the murderer be of less importance than the implied warning it story have to unfold . nope and do not make hasty judgment t and associate this film to some liberal anti war hogwash until you have see it . frankly and i find this film interest . it intrigue and boggles my mind from start to finish . do this film serve up any biblical significance . do it have a connection to that valley of elah which be guard by azekah and and where joshua defeat the amorite king whose army be further destroy by a hailstorm . and azekah be suppose to be the last city that fell to the babylonian not forget that the city of babylon be once locate in the region know this day a iraq . or could this film have anything to do with the valley of elah in which david battle goliath during the occupation of sochoh and azekah by the philistine . sure and i be and at oft time and remind of the very young shepherd very much the same age a emily son and david use a slingshot and five stone and and credibly far from be a good match against the well equip giant . tommy lee jones fit his role to a tee . a hank deerfield and a proud and meticulously organize retired army veteran and patriot and his presence fill screen after screen with emotional persuasion to lead the audience through an astonishingly think provoke journey . hank and in his persistence to find his miss son and command the audience to look at the reality and repercussion of the contemporary war . a hank salvage through his dead son possession and through his interview with his son peer and the story gradually unfold the situational consequence confront young soldier . a scene with zoe karzan angie plead for help from charlize theron emily while hank await his turn to speak to emily . be ever so heart wrenchingly memorable . the final plight of angie be also worthy of remember . war zone be populate by civilian who could be friend or foe and make soldier easy target for the kill . brave and good soldier be perpetually face with have to kill or be kill . and that the reality each one of them have to live with . but and what if fall victim be simply innocent civilian at the wrong place and at the wrong time . this film paint a very credible picture of good and brave soldier torture by self guilt and trauma . but do they ever find solace and comfort from their superior for overcome their traumatic experience and psychological problem and mental illness . it be not difficult to relate all courageous soldier to the biblical david and leave on the battlefield to fight the enemy who seem to have great advantage . but and be their story like the biblical tale of david vs. goliath in which victory be sing but failure be be and perhaps and sweep under the rug . doesn not this film make one wonder if there be other youth send before david to face the giant at the valley of elah and who do die or become maim without their story reveal . this film list several david character . be we suppose to think of the many david who fight war and but whose heroic deed be never individually record in history . the awkward scene of hank tell the bedtime story of david and goliath tends to support several of my thought about this film . hank journey do draw my attention to the importance of recognize every soldier welfare over those who egoistically and selfishly honor victory without much ado about the human cost of war and over those who cover up failure . oh and i do love the character and emily . theron present her character beautifully and surge up my hope and optimism of see those who do still abide by their moral conscience and make wise choice and decision . susan sarandon joan come across the screen well to remind the audience of the many unspoken and suffer mother who have lose son and daughter to the war . all the support actor and too and have give terrific performance despite their brief and yet very relevant appearance . they superbly fit into the scene without over shadow the performance of the film antagonist and but to allow him to drive home his message to the audience . yep and it impossible not to give full attention to hank with every step he undertake . it be not hard to capture hank disillusion with the war a he uncover the fact revolve around the distressed or psychologically affected survivor . have he the right to shove the blame of his son murder on to others than those who actually commit the act of murder . this film succeed in raise question on the cause and effect of war and trigger implied caution and reminder to those harbor hasty war in heavily populate nation where soldier risk their life and only to become displaced person . will warmonger be willing to weigh morally and ethically the human cost of war over the hope for glory and victory . be victory only associate with those unscathed and unblemished by war while the maimed and the dead and and the mentally displace be be sweep under the carpet . this powerful film serve up food for thought . two thumb up for writer or director haggis . once again and he have cleverly create a film that test the audience think process .