Who knew Tommy Lee Jones could act? You know what I mean. We’ve all seen him do his thing, the tough guy with the dry humor, usually a cop. We all like the reliability of it, but really, there were no surprises there. Until you come to “In the Valley of Elah.” He’s still playing the cop-like character (a military man investigating the disappearance of his son). He still has the dry wit. The part seems tailor-made for him, and it may have been. But instead of the usual TLJ performance, here you have one of subtlety – a man who is heartbroken and angry, but relies on his military character to get through the day. It is amazing to watch the control of the performance. Probably the best one of his career, and well worth the Oscar nomination.

The film itself is pretty good. Haggis is a good writer and director, but could use a good dose of subtlety every once in a while. I loved the message of the film, but felt he short-changed the ending of the mystery in lieu of his political stab, when a more accomplished director could have handled both. Gotta love that Josh Brolin appeared in yet another movie with that ‘70s moustache, he really rocked it this year.