Movie Review: The Messenger

Way back when, your author used to fancy himself a movie critic. And on occasion, some people he hasn't talked to in a while will immediately ask if he still reviews movies. Since he usually has to begrudgingly admit that he is still waiting tables instead, there will occasionally be movie reviews posted here at BMC—not necessarily new or even the most recent releases, but still technically reviews—just so he can say he indeed still bitches about what's getting too much/not enough attention. Reviews will offer a quick take that ends with a brief summarizing thought that, in the spirit of Metacritic or Sound Opinions, will be in green (denoting a positive opinion), yellow (mixed opinion) or red (negative opinion). And sorry, but no star-ratings or letter grades.

Today's review: "The Messenger," originally released January 19, 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival. 
THREE THINGS I LIKED:

1. A POWERFUL REMINDER OF THE SACRIFICE INVOLVED IN WAR — There's no shortage of films about armed conflict that put the audience on the front line, but The Messenger introduces us to Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) who has just been assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service. Montgomery's partner for "bereavement notification" is Capt. Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), and The Messenger allows us the voyeuristic opportunity to watch as the duo has to race to deliver the news to the next-of-kin (and only the next-of-kin) before cable news or any other modern media outlet delivers it first. Each and every scene of the men breaking such news offers an intimate, yet jarring, handheld glimpse into scenarios rarely seen. Every actor involved in playing a spouse or widow is astonishingly believable.
2. WOODY HARRELSON CONTINUES TO ASTONISH ME — I never would have guessed that the bartender on Cheers would amass such an impressive résumé, but The Messenger is yet another testament to Harrelson's talent. He's capable of more than just comedy and I can only hope he continues to be offered more character-actor roles such as this one.
3. WAIT A MINUTE—THIS WASN'T MADE BY AMERICANS? — Director Oren Moverman, making his directorial debut, is actually a four-year veteran of the Israeli military. His screenwriting partner for the film, Alessandro Camon, is Italian. And yet The Messenger never leaves the audience feeling that the people behind the film didn't have a tremendous understanding of the camaraderie or speech of American soldiers.

THREE THINGS I DIDN'T:

1. DOESN'T A JOB LIKE THIS REQUIRE A LITTLE MORE TRAINING? — Montgomery's introduction to his new assignment feels rather crash course, and you'd certainly have to believe the military requires quite a bit more prep time than how it feels in the film (a little more information on the subject, circa 2003, here).
2. OH, WHERE'S THE MODERN WAR MOVIE WITHOUT THE LACKLUSTER ROMANTIC SUBPLOT? — As soon as the by-the-book Stone stresses to Montgomery the importance of going by the book and never having physical contact, you can pretty much what that's going to lead to.  Sure enough, along comes the widowed Olivia Pitterson, played with melancholy meh-ness by Samantha Morton. While his courtship of her isn't entirely without its moments, most of the time you'd be forgiven for feeling uneasy about it.
3. IT WON'T BE EASY, BUT THE HATERS WILL STILL BE ABLE TO FIND THE ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT THEY BELIEVE EVERY HOLLYWOOD MOVIE HAS — It's far from being heavy-handed, but The Messenger does begin to make its occasional statements like when Morton's widow berates a couple recruiters at a local mall.

25 WORDS OR LESS:

A few small flaws aside, The Messenger deserves to be seen simply for how powerfully it brings the war home.