MovieChat Forums > In the Valley of Elah (2007) Discussion > Least satisfying payoff in movie history...

Least satisfying payoff in movie history?

posted 8 years ago by Portlis
7 replies | jump to latest

*spoilers*

We spend the entire movie trying to figure out who killed Mike. The movie is going along, good intrigue, a bit of suspense, mildly entertaining, then we just sort of casually discover that Mike's army buddy killed him for no real particular reason and that's that. PTSD sucks, yadda yadda, the end. WTF?

I can't help but feel that regardless of what this was supposed to be, either a murder mystery or a social commentary about war and PTSD, it could have been a WHOLE lot better, specifically the ending.

[–] Raging-Bullwinkle 8 years ago

It's how life is sometimes. Sometimes big mysteries turn out to be not so big. I think the movies main focus was showing how common PSTD is among the troops coming back from war. It's a very serious deal. I see your point but it didn't bother me.

[–] britgirl58-633-700192 8 years ago

Thank you for posting this - I was about to write a question asking if I had missed something! I see now that I didn't, but maybe the film did. I know not all films have to be action, action, action, in fact I like cerebral movies, but I guess there was not much to think about here.
May I just add here that I did stay with the movie to the end due to the performances of Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon. I also understand they used some actual military personnel in the movie - and I mean no disrespect - but maybe they should have used better actors in these roles - maybe then I would have understood a little better.

[–] davidwile 8 years ago

Hey folks,

I agree with the original poster. This was essentially a murder mystery involving soldiers returned from duty abroad. The story had all the makings of a good murder mystery, but the way they chose to end the story made for a bad ending - for me at least. It lost all mystery in when it really depicted no good reason for the murder. No motive.

The acting was good. The story was good until the poor (in my opinion) ending. If the ending would have been written more to conform to a murder mystery story, I think it would have been a very good film. Too bad they missed the mark.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[–] thepooles-1 8 years ago

The movie was based on a real event according to what I've read. The father of the murdered soldier was Army CID not a MP. It wasn't a made up plot. It is what happened. The writer developed the film from a newspaper or magazine coverage of the murder.

[–] Wuchakk 8 years ago

The story was good until the poor (in my opinion) ending. If the ending would have been written more to conform to a murder mystery story, I think it would have been a very good film.

Since the movie was based on the facts of the murder case of Richard T. Davis it could only end one way. You can read about the story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_T._Davis

Besides, it was a murder mystery. After all, did you know who the killer was until the end? Of course you didn't. You were just disappointed by (1.) who did it and (2.) why he (they) did it.

It lost all mystery in when it really depicted no good reason for the murder. No motive.

No, PTSD is the main culprit, combined with lots of alcohol (big mistake) and Mike (the victim) increasingly getting out of hand, which was what got them kicked out of the bar in the first place (Mike himself was suffering PTSD). So Corporal Penning (Chatham) loses it during one of Mike's fits and, before he even knows it, stabs him to death. So desensitized were they by the brutality of war the three agree to dispose of the body in a gruesome manner and grab something to eat with Mike's credit card, like it was no big deal. It was no big deal because that's the kind of things they did in Iraq (as the videos displayed), but they hadn't returned to normal yet when the murder took place, having just returned.

The movie shows what happens to normal American youth when we send 'em off to brutal war. It's not necessarily anti-war; it just shows what war often does to normal, healthy people. And this is augmented by being based on a true story.

My 175 (or so) Favorite Movies:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070122364/

[–] Brc-Productions 8 years ago

Maybe you're all desensitized. If you can just pass it off as yadda yadda yadda maybe you didn't let it sink in. I thought the ending was powerful. Tommy Lee's character had to face the fact that he pushed his son into the whole situation. Charlize had to face that she wasn't there for the girl that was drowned in the tub. People are just to quick to shrug these things off. We have a real problem in our society these days.

[–] boonjj 8 years ago

the way the solider talks about such acts ("it was pretty funny") like its normalized behaviour was a pretty chilling reveal, plus the reactions of tommy and charlize.

it was definetely a good, realistic, and sobering ending imo.