In theaters

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, directed by Paul Haggis, written by Haggis and Mark Boal, 120 minutes, rated R.

The new Paul Haggis movie, “In the Valley of Elah,” stars Tommy Lee Jones in an Academy Award-worthy performance as Hank Deerfield, a Vietnam veteran and former military police officer who wakes one morning to learn that his son Mike (Jonathan Tucker) has returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Normally, this would be cause for celebration. Instead, it’s cause for alarm, particularly since Mike is missing and the military is wondering whether Hank knows where his son is. Since he doesn’t know, it’s made clear to him that if somebody doesn’t find Mike soon, he will officially be charged with going AWOL.

But not if Hank has anything to do with it.

Launching into action, he packs his bags (crisp, neat, not a wrinkle in sight – this man is military to the core), says goodbye to his wife (Susan Sarandon) and leaves their Tennessee home for New Mexico, where Mike is stationed. It’s there that he begins the long and disturbing next stage of his life, which wends around the sort of dark corners no parent wants to travel.

Upon his arrival in New Mexico, unwanted truths surface about Mike as Hank starts to ask questions about his disappearance.

He learns that Mike favored strip clubs, which Hank visits, his rutted roadmap of a face sinking south with disapproval. On Mike’s cell phone, which Hank steals, he uncovers recorded video of Mike’s time in Iraq, which leads to all sorts of disturbing insights as Hank begins to question whether he knew his son at all. And then there’s Mike himself, who eventually turns up dead in a field on the outskirts of the military base, his dismembered body burned beyond recognition.

Who killed him? That’s the question that burns at the heart of this movie, with Haggis and his co-writer, Mark Boal, building a compelling mystery around a character-driven film laced with anti-war undertones.

In a solid performance is Charlize Theron as Emily Sanders, the police detective who comes to help Hank. She does so reluctantly at first, but then with an increased fierceness that surprises her male colleagues, who resent her for being the only female on the force, and also a military detective played by Jason Patric, who resents her because he’s trying to contain a possible scandal.

In some ways, the movie is reminiscent of Paul Schrader’s 1979 film “Hardcore,” which starred George C. Scott as a conservative father who went looking for his missing daughter in California, only to find in the sordid underbelly of the adult film business that she had disappeared into the blue world of porn films. Whereas that movie gave itself over too often to melodrama, “Elah” resists, which can’t be said for Haggis’ last movie, the cheaply obvious yet Academy Award-winning “Crash.”

“Elah” is a major improvement over that film, and while you sometimes feel its length, stick with it – it’s in its layers that the movie comes alive, revealing character and clues with fleeting, passing asides. Key to its success is that the movie ties its emotions to the gradually crumbling rock that is Tommy Lee Jones’ face. That’s a shrewd move, particularly since in that face are eyes that come to project so much – sorrow, grief, rage, despair – amid a stoic mug that was trained long ago to reveal nothing, and so it doesn’t.

At least for awhile.

Grade: B+

On HD DVD

PRIDE & PREJUDICE, directed by Joe Wright, written by Deborah Moggach, 128 minutes, rated PG.

Joe Wright’s “Pride & Prejudice,” now available on HD DVD, reimagines Jane Austen’s much-adapted 1813 book of the same name, specifically in how it views the main character, Elizabeth Bennet.

No longer is she a common face among the Bennet household – far from it. Now, as played with deep reserves of pluck, depth and intelligence by Keira Knightly, who shines here, she stands alongside her sister, Jane (Rosamind Pike), in physical beauty.

Fans of the book might wince at the idea that Wright and his screenwriter Deborah Moggach have stripped “Prejudice” of its point – that someone with a plain face and from simple means could possess the wit and the demeanor to win over somebody as impossibly well-bred and as wealthy as a certain Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen).

But here’s the thing – the decision to refine Elizabeth’s looks doesn’t tip the balance of the tale as you might expect. She’s still a handful here, still a challenge, still unable to restrain herself from saying exactly what’s on her mind. Her pride is as formidable as ever, which creates some wonderful tension as her budding, tug-of-war relationship builds with Darcy, who initially comes off as a prejudiced snob until he reveals himself to be more complex than that.

Beautifully photographed by Roman Osin and with a gorgeous score by Dario Marianelli, this lush, romantic costume dramedy can be wicked and wickedly funny, particularly given its flighty performance by the marvelous Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet, whose sole purpose in life seems to be to marry off her five daughters before her nerves get the best of her, and the ferocious appearance by Dame Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourg, who could break someone’s spirit with a mere glance.

But not Elizabeth’s, not hers. She’s a force, this one, and yet not at the expense of the other characters. Happily, Wright gets it right in that he also focuses on the periphery, where the three other Bennet sisters are brooding for a mate; Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) is a shy as ever around poor Jane; and the bond shared by Elizabeth and her father, Mr. Bennet, played to perfection by Donald Sutherland, remains magical regardless of the transition between mediums.

Grade: A

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? BDN film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Akeelah and the Bee – B+

Because I Said So – C

Black Book – B+

Blades of Glory – B+

Breach – B+

Bridge to Terabithia – B+

Casino Royale – A

Cast Away: Blu-ray – A-

Children of Men – A

The Condemned – D

Death Proof – B+

Deja Vu – C+

The Departed – A

Disturbia – B

Evan Almighty – C

Everyone’s Hero – C+

Evening – C+

Fail Safe – A-

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer – D+

Flushed Away – B+

The Fountain – D

1408 – B

Fracture – C

Georgia Rule – D+

The Graduate – B+

Hairspray – A-

Happy Feet – A-

The Hills Have Eyes II – D

Hostel II – C-

The Illusionist – B+

Infamous – B+

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry – D

Invincible – B

Inside Man – B+

The Invisible – C-

Jackie Chan’s The Myth – C-

Knocked Up – A

Little Children – A-

Live Free or Die Hard – B-

The Lives of Others – A

Lucky You – C+

A Might Heart – A-

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Blu-ray – B+

Music and Lyrics – B

The Nanny Diaries – D+

Next – D

Night at the Museum – C+

Notes on a Scandal – B+

The Number 23 – D

Pan’s Labyrinth – A

Premonition – C-

Pride & Prejudice: DVD, HD DVD – A

Ratatouille – A

The Reaping – D

Reign Over Me – C-

Rocky Balboa – B+

Shooter – C+

Shrek the Third: DVD, HD DVD – C

Sicko – A-

Superbad: DVD, Blu-ray – b+

Surf’s Up – B+

TMNT – C

300 – C-

The Transformers – B+

28 Weeks Later – B

We Are Marshall – D

Zodiac – C