Film Reviews

The Messenger

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Ben Foster
• Details: US / 113mins (15A).

Without firing a shot in anger, The Messenger is one of the best anti-war movies in recent years. Harrelson was nominated for his performance in 2010 but this engrossing drama has only hit our shores now. Better late than never.
They approach the job like a mission, and they tackle that mission with fastidiousness. There is a script to stick rigidly to; they can't hug or even touch them; they must not react when they are slapped, spat at and verbally abused; and time is of the essence as they have to deliver the news before it's on CNN or the Internet. The tightly wound Captain Tony Stone (Harrelson) lays down these rules to the twitchy Sergeant Will Montgomery (Foster), who has been assigned as his partner in the Casualty Notification Team: a demanding job to relay the terrible news to the next of kin that a loved one has died in battle. Montgomery struggles with the stress of the job until he meets Olivia (Morton), a widow whom he has just broken the bad news to, as her unexpected reaction rocks the emotionally distant soldier.
The Messenger can be tough going – it's a film that drains the viewer. Because we know what the messengers know we're right there with them, saying those words, delivering the worst news these people will ever hear. One particular scene sees Harrelson and Foster stuck in a house waiting for a mother to come home while the dead soldier's pregnant girlfriend begs them to tell her what's wrong: they can't as she's not next of kin. There are numerous scenes like this, and each one is just as demanding. When they're not on the job, Harrelson's cynical alcoholic struggles to stay on the wagon and the lonely Foster bounces off the walls in his apartment, hating the fact that his ex-girlfriend is soon to be married.
It comes as a relief then when Morton and Foster flirt with the idea of getting close. Bar the growing respect Montgomery and Stone begin to have for each other, it's the only corner of warmth in the film. That relationship isn't without its problems, as it's hard to believe that Morton would even entertain the thought of being with another man so soon, but writer-director Overman comes through in the end. Dialogue-heavy for the most part, Overman can do just the same without dialogue: a touching scene sees the uniformed Harrelson and Foster get out of their car in front of a playground as mothers and wives watch in silence, wondering whose door they will knock on.
A demanding film, you won't forget The Messenger in a hurry.

Review by Gavin Burke