Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin are rugged men investigating the murder of a veteran who had just returned home from Iraq. The new Coen brothers’ film? No, that’s the eagerly-anticipated No Country for Old Men, which also stars this pair. Elah, on the other hand, is the first vehicle from director/screenwriter Paul Haggis since Crash. Haggis seems to have his hands in about four movies a year, either as a writer, producer, or director. So will Elah be overwrought garbage like the Best Picture-stealing Crash? Will it be exciting but ultimately ponderous popcorn fare like Casino Royale, on which he served as screenwriter? Or a heartfelt and often unsparing examination of the trials and tribulations returning soldiers face when coming home, as witnessed in Flags of Our Fathers?
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