The Messenger

The Messenger

When a movie project goes through multiple directors before it hits the big screen, it's usually a bad sign. No one wants to take responsibility for a sinking ship.

In the case of The Messenger, however, the directorial rumors did it no harm at all. Wagging tongues suggested that both Sydney Pollack and Ben Affleck were to be associated with the project, but the job finally fell to scriptwriter Oren Moverman.

He may not have had much directing experience, but he certainly knew his source material.

The end result is an unusually tender and emotional portrait of the U.S. armed forces, showing us the damaged soldiers who come back home, only to be given the job of informing the families of the recently deceased. It's a tough mission at the best of times, but when you're struggling to tackle your own ghosts it becomes a recipe for nervous breakdown.

Ben Foster plays Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery, who's given this unenviable assignment after returning to the U.S. as an injured war hero. His boss, Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), is teetotal and by the book, attempting to teach Montgomery his personal list of rules for staying sane in such an emotionally draining line of work.

Montgomery is strong-willed and opinionated, however, and it quickly becomes clear that Stone's rules won't be enough to save him. He truly goes off the deep end when he starts an ill-advised relationship-of-sorts with recently bereaved widow Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton).

It's refreshing to see a military movie that isn't just about the glories - and horrors - of armed combat, and these men fight their own battles on the morally cloudy home front. Both Montgomery and Stone are damaged characters, hanging onto their sanity by force of will alone. The Messenger not only humanizes its soldiers - it turns them into a different kind of hero.

Foster does well with the lead role, even if his babyface belies the character's mental toughness, but it's Harrelson who steals the show. Earning an Oscar nomination for his performance (given The Hurt Locker's success, the Academy clearly liked unconventional indie war movies this year), he reins in much of his trademark arrogance and bluster in favor of a finely nuanced study in pain and control. When the reins finally snap his excesses are all the more powerful for his earlier restraint.

Morton is outstanding as the confused and struggling widow too, and she brings a raw realism to a complex role. She may not have as many scenes as Foster and Harrelson, but her subtle shifts of emotion lend a much-needed heart to the film.

The Messenger still has a few problems, not least the lack of emotional involvement with these cold, rigid men. It eventually wins us over, though, when the cracks finally appear in the dam and the pent-up emotion comes rushing out. There's no last minute resolution or salvation for these damaged war heroes, but at least the audience is allowed the satisfaction of a brief glimpse behind their facades of control.

4/5

The Messenger - ***1/2

Review:  One of the most horrible feelings/moments imagineable would have to be the moment when two soldiers come to your door while you child is away at war.  You instantly know what the problem is and why these strangers are at your door, but you hold out hope just for a second that maybe they are coming to tell you something else, but it never ends up that way.

That is what this movie is about.  I have never had to be in this situation and I pray that I never will be.  This is a feeling I never want to have to experience.  Nobody ever knows how they are going to react in this situation and my guess is nobody every reacts like they think they would.  That is the crux of this movie.

The movie follows a soldier that has just returned from action a war hero and injured.  He has a couple months of duty remaining and is selected to spend that time in the Casualty Notification Unit.  He will be shepherded by an experienced soldier in this group (Woody Harrleson) on how to make sure the victim's kin are notified correctly.  That is the premise of the movie and it is a very good portrait of how different people can deal with tragedy in different ways. 

I have never been to war and probably never will be in my lifetime so it is hard to say how I would react in battle and how I would cope with what I've seen after coming back from battle.  Seeing the worst part of humanity will affect people in different ways and this movie shows it can affect soldiers and how it continually affects not only you, but the people around you and your life.  Whether you are dead and gone or still alive, your war experience will have a very huge impact on the important people in your life. 

This movie is not propaganda about anti-war or anything of that sort, rather, just a snapshot of how war affects every day lives of veterans and families of veterans or those that were KIA.  Similar to another movie released around the same time 'Brothers' (review here) it shows how much war affects soldiers and how much the rest of us pretend it isn't happening or it's not a big deal.  At least, until it affects our lives.  Perhaps that is the biggest tragedy of war that besides the one's in the trenches the rest of us don't know what goes on and gladly turn a blind eye while others risk their lives and then have to come back and pretend like none of it ever happened.  But What happens when you can't pretend?  Or when your child doesn't come back and every time you think of them or somebody asks of them it all comes rushing back?  These are questions posed by this movie and the answers are shown in the characters.  They may not be the answers we want but they are truthful.

That is where the movie shines, in the performances.  Ben Foster gives a great performance in the lead role, Woody Harrelson portrays the part of the flawed man who has been numbed to the process because he has done it for so long to perfection.  There is a tragedy in his character that is hard to pull off and he does it well.  His character spends his days robotically telling people of their lost loved ones and finds ways to push everyone else in his life away so that he can't be hurt and have to deal with it the way these people have to.  It is a very tragic character and played very well by Harrelson, perhaps the best role of his career.  Samantha Morton also gives a very good understated performance as a widow that Ben Foster's character takes a liking to, and the writing is top notch.  All in all, definitely worth your time.

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Last updated: 2010-06-01 22:07:55 by ReeltimeReport

FILM REVIEW : The Messenger (2009)

 

Being the first of the two films I saw today, I can see why Oren Moverman's debut film has so much Oscar buzz: it boasts a unique plot and has some great performances. However, The Messenger is littered with some very noticeable problems...


The film follows Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a member of the U.S. Military who has recently been commissioned to serve as a casualty notification officer alongside Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Montgomery has some moving experiences while in this position, but none quite as moving as the ones he shares with Olivia (Samantha Morton), a woman whose husband was killed in the war.

To put it simply, the best aspect of the film is the cast. Ben Foster puts in a very strong breakthrough performance as Will Montgomery. It's not your story of the year breakthrough, but hopefully Foster will land some bigger and brighter roles in the future. Samantha Morton works well opposite Foster. However, Miss Morton wasn't able to fully overcome the one-notedness of her character. Steve Buscemi also does well in the two or three times he shows up in the film. And now...

Ladies and gentlemen, give your applause to Mister Woody Harrelson for having such a great comeback in 2009 (this year's Robert Downey, Jr. ... even though Downey is far better, no offense)! This role only adds to that arsenal, as he's fantastic in the role. Not much to the character as a whole, but he has a really great breakdown scene near the end

Now for the problems. My biggest issue with The Messenger was the lack of focus. What is this film supposed to be about really? I know that it's about Will Montgomery, but what is his plight? What is his overall goal as related to the events in the film? That's something I would like to know.

And I've touched on this a little already... another problem for me was the lack of character development. The film lacks a true plot; we accordingly are not treated to any actual plot development. This is understandable in the case of a character study, which this film attempts to be. However, when the film spends so much time focusing on the characters, I would expect to know more about these characters, what their personalities are like, what their flaws are. I received none of that while watching The Messenger.

Montgomery is obviously traumatized by his experience in the war. Other than that, I can tell you nothing. Olivia is upset over her husband's death - and let's just hope the opposite wouldn't be true. I can tell you nothing about her personality besides that. Stone is dedicated to his work. That's about it for him. However, the cast worked, so the characters seem something like human

All in all, this is the case of a mediocre screenplay being translated by a fantastic cast into a pretty good film.

Somewhat recommended

Rating: 5.5 out of 10 stars (3.0 out of 5 stars)

Oscar Potential
Best shots: Best Actor in a Supporting Actor (Woody Harrelson)
Possible: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ben Foster)
In contention for: Best Picture, Best Director (Oren Moverman), Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Samantha Morton)

Julian Stark (pen name)<br />
<br />
Founder/Editor: Movies and Other Things<br />
<br />
http://julianstark-moviesandotherthings.blogspot.com

Super Marcey's The Messenger Review

Rating: 4/5

I had not seen a trailer for this film, I had not read anything about the film, all I knew was that it featured Woody Harrelson and he had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and the Oscars. That enough got my interest to see it, being a big Woody fan and to see him getting awards attention seemed like this was worth a look. A worth a look it certainly is, I was pleasantly surprised to see this film also starred another personal favourite of mine Ben Foster. No matter what the man does, good film or bad film he is always fantastic and worth watching. I put this film and I was really just blown away by the performances and the story, it was not what I was expecting. Ben Foster plays Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery, he is recovering from injuries he sustained and he has a few months left in his enlistment. He gets a new assignment as a part of the Casualty Notification Team under the guidance of Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Will struggles with his new assignment and things get more complicated when he strikes up a relationship with a widow he had to notify about her husbands passing.

This film is actually difficult to watch at times, the scenes where Tony and Will go and inform families that their son/daughter ect have been killed while serving are very upsetting and moving and most importantly they all felt very real. Which is an amazing accomplishment from all the actors involved, as I said I was blown away by the performances. It really aims to show how everyone reacts differently to grief, and the way Tony and Will have to deliver the news and react with the people really takes its toll on Will. In a powerful scene from Woody, Tony explains how things work to Will and you can tell right away that Will is going to struggle with this. It really delves deep into how Will deals with everything, the dilema's he faces. The relationship and bond that Will and Tony form changes both men, they both have their demons and they both do not deal with them and then deal with them. I honestly can't imagine how it must feel to do that job and inform people about someones passing, and the way they portrayed it just felt very real.

A fantastic small role played by Steve Buscemi, as the first person Will goes along to inform is extremely moving and it actually had me in tears. The small role he has Buscemi proved what a fantastic actor he is and his impact is felt throughout the entire film as well, it really sticks with you.The script for this film is quite excellent and I definitely agree with the Oscar nomination it received. The dialogue I found to be very real and it flowed so naturally, especially coming from Woody, who seemed to have a deep understanding of the character and portrayed it in just the right way. The pacing and length of this film suited it just fine, this is a drama and it is important for it to keep your attention and this film certainly did. I actually couldn't guess which direction it would go in, but it is obvious that Will was going to have some kind of relationship with the widow Olivia (Samantha Morton) he had to inform. There is a lot to this film, many themes are touched upon and I did feel it was a very moving film, upsetting film and a very real film. This is certainly something I would recommend, it is a great film and as mentioned many times in this review fantastic performances. Woody is the stand out, and it goes to show what a great actor he is when he can pull off a role like this and be equally as good and the stand out in a role like Zombieland.

(First written March 10 2010, first published at SuperMarcey.com) 

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Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-03-09 17:20:00 by SuperMarcey

The Messenger

NicholasC

Last updated: 2010-02-23 02:06:53 by user01

The Messenger

Writers: Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
Director: Oren Moverman
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, Samantha Morton

Along with "Brothers" this is a very strong and powerful look at the after effects of war. Two soldiers have the task of informing family members that a loved one has died in combat. Woody Harrelson gives a perfect and moving performance and Ben Foster is his equal. This movie is quietly powerful and the scenes where Harrelson and Foster talk about war, their struggles and pain are priceless and strong. There is also a touching love story in the middle with Samantha Morton.

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Vincent Snavely

The Messenger

There isn’t much to say about the Messenger.  Fantastic acting…and that’s about it.  Well, maybe that’s a little unfair, but really, this is a movie that goes no where.  It certainly has its share of powerful moments, but it runs around in circles and just doesn’t do anything.

The characters we follow throughout the movie are Sergeant William Montgomery (Ben Foster) and Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), two soldiers responsible for reporting to family members their party has died in duty.  The only memorable scenes in this entire movie are when they are delivering these messages to the parents/wives.  They are very intense.  These moments were awkward, but in a good/emotional way.  One scene in particular, in which Steve Buscemi makes a cameo, was flat out heart breaking. 

What else is awkward in this movie, but in a bad way, is the forced storyline of a possible attraction between Montgomery and one of the recent widows (Samantha Morton).  Everything about this storyline fails.  It’s uncomfortable to watch.  It just feels weird, and the performances reflect that.  Yes, I get the whole point that the relationship is supposed to be uneasy, but it’s handled so poorly, that it comes off as nothing but uncomfortable.  It’s a complete contrast to the messenger scenes, which are also hard to watch, but there is such a strong build up of tension and uneasiness that those scenes come off as powerful and not just awkward and forced.  This is one of the major plots here, and it just completely takes you out of the movie.

Outside of those scenes though, there are some damn good performances.  Ben Foster’s mannerisms and facial expressions instantly bring sympathy to his character.  Watching him go through his personal demons as a result of what happened to him in battle, and then watching him try and deliver these messages of death without getting emotionally involved is pretty hard stuff, but he nails it with perfect subtlety in his eyes and delivery.  Woody Harrelson, who is always fantastic, gives a perfect performance.  His character goes through a wide range of emotions - Tough guy, recovering alcoholic, vulnerability, jokey.  You name it, Woody had to act it.  And he nails all of it.  These characters pretty much spend the entire movie together.  Except for when Stone is explaining the rules to Montgomery about their job, there isn’t a whole lot of chemistry, but their acting is so good, it compensates for the weak script and direction.

Ultimately, I just had no idea where this movie was going and what it was building to.  When the climax of the Montgomery/Stone relationship comes to a head at the end, I felt nothing.  So who’s to blame here?  Well, I have to blame the director (Oren Moverman).  Although there are truly moments of greatness, I just don’t know why I’m watching it.  It’s a very forced ending on all levels.  It makes you think the movie was building to something…but it’s just a way of wrapping everything up.  Great performances…okay movie.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

Last updated: 2010-01-02 12:34:51 by danjewish