It is with this in mind that the Eastbourne Film Society is being careful to limit what it says about its next attraction, the penultimate film in its spring mini-season, which plays at the Curzon Cinema on Wednesday with seats available for the general public.

The film in question has a rather oblique title which certainly gives nothing away, but In the Valley of Elah is a gripping drama from the American writer/director Paul Haggis, who won acclaim for this previous feature Crash.

This new work has a great cast headed by Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon and what can safely be said without spoiling the audience's enjoyment is that it is the story of a former military man (Lee Jones) and his response to the news that his son, a conscript, has gone AWOL on returning from service in Iraq.

The father is anxious to discover what is behind this. He firmly believes that if he can only succeed in tracking down his son after talking to the youth's comrades he will be able to persuade him to return and turn himself in.

What ensues makes this a film that has some serious things to say about American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and about what is being done to young Americans in the process.

But, if that adds weight to the film, In the Valley of Elah is also to be enjoyed as an entertaining story about an investigation that in unravelling a mystery takes many unexpected twists and turns.

For the audience to have no idea where the trail will lead as the father forges ahead with his plan enhances a suspenseful and engrossing work and one that enables the admirable Tommy Lee Jones to give what has widely been recognised as the performance of a lifetime.