The Messenger Review
Directed by: Oren Moverman
Written by: Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, Steve Buscemi

After a few years of movies about the war in Iraq that were both commercial and critical failures, it seems that American filmmakers are finally learning to tackle the subject without trying so hard to make a statement. Most notably, Kathryn Bigelow’s action thriller The Hurt Locker has been hailed by many as one of the best films of the year, and is currently riding a huge wave of Oscar buzz. On the other side of the spectrum, we have Oren Moverman’s quiet yet powerful indie drama The Messenger (not to be confused with Luc Besson’s Joan of Arc biopic of the same name).

The tale is a simple one with no immediate hook. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is a soldier who has returned home after a traumatic experience that left one of his eyes damaged and resulted in him being hailed as a hero. He finds himself thrown into a totally different kind of battlefield after he is assigned to the Casualty Notification unit where he must visit the next of kin for those who have been killed in action. His partner, Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), is a cold and seemingly emotionless veteran who shows him the ropes by emphasizing the importance of policies and procedures. In his first few weeks on the job, Will becomes drawn to one of the soldier’s widows, but struggles to find the right way to deal with these emotions.

As you can probably guess, The Messenger deals heavily with loss and loneliness and is not a particularly pleasant or upbeat film. That alone will probably keep a lot of people from ever seeing this, but if you trust in the quality of the filmmaking and the acting, you will find something more than just a weepy criticism of war here. Moverman previously co-wrote the screenplay for Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There, which should give you a little bit of an indication that he’s not interested in obvious cliches. With his first time behind the camera, he employs a sparse directorial style that is not preachy or showy in any way.

The movie offers some interesting insights into this difficult job that most of us have never had to endure. For example, the Casualty Notification service is on call 24 hours a day, and must drop everything in order to be the first ones to break the news to the family. Whenever we hear that beeper go off during the movie, a sense of dread takes over… even moreso after witnessing Will’s first few assignments. Each call presents a different and completely unpredictable set of circumstances, all equally heart-wrenching. These scenes are easily the highlight of the movie, both due to the performances and the suspense they create.

Ben Foster has been stealing scenes for years now in films like 3:10 to Yuma and 30 Days of Night, but still hasn’t quite had the chance to carry an entire film on his shoulders — particularly a serious drama. Although Woody Harrelson gets top billing, it is clearly Foster’s film, and his acting talent is on full display. The movie would fall apart without someone who is able to handle the emotional load, and here he keeps it appropriately subtle, unlike some of his previous roles (and, unlike Tobey Maguire in Brothers, at least from what I’ve seen of it).

Samantha Morton is equally amazing, and if you’ve seen her on screen in Control or In America, you know what she’s capable of. Their relationship is handled in a way that shuns melodrama and defies audience expectations. Woody Harrelson also provides some powerful moments of his own, but also injects a touch of dark humour into an otherwise grim story.

Much like The Hurt Locker, The Messenger is a movie about people performing one of the most unenviable jobs on the planet, and by focusing on the day-to-day details it avoids any political stance. Unlike The Hurt Locker, however, it is a character-driven drama that creates tension without the use of a single gun shot or explosion. The conclusion, although murky, offers no fairytale endings and no simple answers. What it does manage to do is capture a small piece of the current American psyche. This is not the kind of movie that wins awards, simply because it is so low key, but it’s definitely the kind of movie that deserves every nomination it gets. Do not overlook this impressive directorial debut from Oren Moverman. — Sean

SCORE:

Recommended If You Like: Brothers, The Hurt Locker, The Lucky Ones

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