Film: In the Valley of Elah

Despite the gripping plot and impressive production, Elah ends up being nothing more than a film about the effects of war on soldiers - an impressive task given that the film itself is wholly set in the USA.

The cast do a fantastic job propping the rest of the film along - wartime is presented as a series of videos slowly being recovered off a damaged phone, while the behaviour of soldiers is subtle rather than explicit. This all makes for a very smart yet straightforwardly enjoyable film to watch.

Still I can't help but feel a bit conned; the pacey thriller character of the film is kinda left at the side as it turns to deal with the human and emotional issues. But that's not to detract too much from a good film as a whole - it was certainly better than I was expecting it to be! Recommended.