Death and Dishonor

Hank Deerfield: Do you know what it means when a flag flies upside down?

School Janitor: No.

Hank Deerfield: It's an international distress signal.

School Janitor: No shit?

Hank Deerfield: No Shit! It means we're in a whole lot of trouble so come save our asses 'cause we ain't got a prayer in Hell of saving it ourselves.

School Janitor: It says alot.

Hank Deerfield: Yes, it does.

We might be in a whole lot of trouble, and if you see this film you might think we're in a whole Hell of a lot more.

Writer/Director Paul Haggis (who wrote the screenplays for "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima") takes us on a twisting journey of conflict between the police and the military and the conflict of a father who may find out more about his son than he wanted to know.

There are no political statements, no lectures about our role in Iraq and no glorified ads for life in the military. What there is a lot of is hard truth. I suppose the reason this film wasn't more popular is because truth isn't always popular. We like things with sugar on them, happy endings and such. This film provides no sugar.

It provides Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar nominated performance as Hank Deerfield, a former military man who leaves Tennessee for New Mexico in search of his son, who is AWOL after returning from Iraq. Charlize Theron plays the detective who reluctantly helps him after finding sympathy for Deerfield through her relationship with her own son. I haven't seen Theron since 1999's "Cider House Rules" and "The Astronaut's Wife", but I wondered if she wasn't a tad bit miscast. She's the put-upon police detective who is maligned by her co-workers for presumably sleeping her way into the job (with Josh Brolin), but we all know that she's smarter than the rest of them. But the film really isn't about her.

It's about our soldiers and their lives before, during and after serving in Iraq. I can't delve deeply into the issue without spoiling the ending, but suffice it to say that the film tells a sad and dramatic tale and minces no words or actions in the process. It's also about Jones' relationship with his son and the burden that a military family places on its sons and mother. Susan Sarandon plays Deerfield's wife Joan, and there is enough angst in her life to fill two hours by herself.

If you're ready for a frank espose' of life in the military, you won't be disappointed. Expect it to leave you slightly dumbfounded, which might be a good thing.