The Messenger

The Messenger (TM) is a story about a wounded U.S. soldier, played by Ben Foster, who is ordered to join the Army's Casualty Notification Unit and inform families when a soldier has been killed in action, generally in Iraq. He learns the ropes from his eccentric commanding officer, an exceptional Woody Harrelson, and he also takes a liking to the widow of one of the women he visits, played by Samantha Morton.

This is a solid film. I enjoyed Foster's performance as Will Montgomery. He does an excellent job of making his character feel like he can never fully get comfortable with what has to be one of the most difficult jobs in the military. As a result, we as the audience never get comfortable with that process, which I think is the way it is supposed to be; death should never feel comfortable. I was perusing one of the DVD's bonus features and a real life soldier said, "Grief is illogical." I can't think of a better way to say it.

Of course many accolades have been heaped on Woody Harrelson for his performance in this film, and I'll add to it. He is magnificent is Tony Stone, a man with numerous demons: he is a recovering alcoholic, he has a unique view of how relationships with women should be, he believes casualty notification should be a completely emotionless, by-the-book process, and he secretly wishes that he had seen combat during Operation Desert Storm. He plays this role so convincingly it's startling.

The toughest part of this film is watching the notifications that Will and Tony do. Anybody that has ever lost someone significant in their lives will relate to the shock and emotion that happens during these scenes. Be warned - this film packs an emotional punch and may make you cry. Have tissues handy.

Will and Tony, because of their very different experiences with combat, have very different opinions on how to do casualty notification. If I have a gripe with the movie, it's this: the film did not spend enough time having these two characters "face off" about this profound difference in approach; it is subtly hinted at a few times and crests in one scene. I think some interesting dialogue and arguments for both the characters and the audience were missed out on by not focusing some more on this.

There has been a real surge in recent years in the profile of the war picture genre. The Hurt Locker (THL) took home 6 Academy Awards last year, including Best Picture. Films like THL, Stop Loss and In the Valley of Elah and documentaries like No End in Sight remind us of the dangers our soldiers face on a daily basis. Even if the films made about the war are not of the highest quality (although all of the aforementioned save Stop Loss, which I haven't seen, are excellent), I feel like it is important that Hollywood continue to make these movies and that we continue to watch them.

Those of you that have seen THL will probably notice a lot of similarities to that film and TM. While an outright comparison is unfair, to ignore the similarities would be silly. Both movies revolve around soldiers undertaking an extremely difficult task, and both focus on characters that struggle to balance the chaos of battle and combat with the contrast of quiet domestic life at home. I think that though TM does it well, THL does it better.

I'll be interested to see how time and history treat TM. I think this is the kind of war film that can last long beyond its years and still resonate with audiences. I guess this mean's that the film's mission is accomplished.