Article: WATCH IT.(Life and Arts)

"IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH"

121 minutes. Rated R.

Paul Haggis doesn't lack for ambition. He tackled no less than the state of race and class in the United States 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 in which 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 ...

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