The Messenger

Overview

You do not want Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) or Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) knocking on your door. The two are arguably entrusted with one of the US Army's toughest assignments: casualty notification. It's a job that's driving teetotalling Stone to an alcoholic abyss, and one that promises to scratch at the viscerally raw nerves of recently returned Staff Sergeant Montgomery. Together the pair set out on their thankless task in screenwriter Oren Moverman's (Jesus' Son, I'm Not There) strikingly simple yet devastatingly powerful directorial debut. Co-written with producer Alessandro Camon (American Psycho, The Cooler), Moverman's film shows remarkable restraint for a first time director, particularly one saddling himself with the often unwelcome subtitle of 'an Iraq War film'.

Visually and thematically, The Messenger sticks fearlessly close to its titular character; as the film traverses six notifications, Moverman's camera predominantly stays on Will as the news horrifically hits home off camera. Forbidden to reach out and comfort the N.O.K (next of kin), the audience experiences Will's fearful, then seething seclusion, and can thus almost empathise as he entangles himself with a widow (Samantha Morton). Mercifully, similar restraint is shown in this storyline, with an utterly electric, single-shot scene of Morton and Foster emotionally opening up to each other.

Such punch in the gut performances are present across the board, with Steve Buscemi making a remarkable cameo and Harrelson even garnering an Oscar nomination. With such impressive acting and understated, poignant direction, Moverman can be forgiven for stretching a couple of the film's metaphors a tad too far. The Messenger is nevertheless a beautifully rendered and necessarily painful window onto an overlooked reality. But you can take cold comfort from the fact that you really needn't worry about shooting the messenger — he's already at the raggedy edge.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8MEApxjYncI