Retired military man Hank Deerfield (Jones) receives word that his son, who has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, has gone AWOL. He heads interstate to the base where his son was stationed to look for him and within a day the young man's charred remains are found on the outskirts of town. Hank sticks around to help with the investigation, led by local police detective Emily Sanders (Theron). With little more than a few credit card receipts, photographs and mobile-phone video footage from Iraq to go on.

As the case becomes a battle for jurisdiction between the over-protective military police and the local cops, only Hank and Emily seem to care about finding the truth behind the matter. Even if they do, what can they hope to achieve given the political climate they live in?

In the Valley of Elah is an intriguing murder mystery that falls back on topical events to provide a tense atmosphere to its proceedings. Despite relying on topical political events for its back-story, the movie avoids taking much of a political stance itself and this works strongly in its favour (particularly if, like me, you are tired of listening to the same diatribe over and over again in movies).

There are some great performances in In the Valley of Elah, from both its leads (Tommy Lee Jones was Oscar nominated for his performance here) and solid ensemble supporting cast (Susan Sandon, Josh Brolin, Jason Patric, James Franco).