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Article: TOMMY LEE JONES SHINES IN 'ELAH'.(What's Happening)
- Article from:
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- Article date:
- September 14, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: SEAN AXMAKERSpecial to the P-I
Paul Haggis doesn't lack for ambition. He tackled no less than the state of race and class in America with his high-minded, Oscar-winning social drama "Crash." Subtlety is another matter. Despite the Oscar win, I find "Crash" equal parts affecting and insufferable, a film where the human drama is swamped by overreaching commentary and glib irony.
The subject of his sophomore feature as a director, "In the Valley of Elah," is no less ambitious - the psychological toll of the Iraq war on the American soldiers ground down by unending tours and stop-loss extensions - but he's more focused and his storytelling more ...