Review of The Messenger (2009) by Cameron W — 23 Jun 2013

The Messenger is may be the most interesting outlook on war in recent years. The film takes you through the heartbreaking job of being death messengers for the army, a job where you literally shatter people's hearts all day long.

However, the film is much more than a study of a job that many people take for granted, it is an examination of inexplicable loss and how people deal with what they dont understand. And Moverman creates a harrowing, yet realistic atmosphere that makes this film feel so authentic and pack a much harder emotional punch.

Also, the performances in this film by Harrelson, Foster, and Morton are so perfect that you forget they're acting, making the film entralling and captivating from start to finish. But the real prize of this film is in the screenplay, it is so original and void of influences that it is honestly a mystery to me how it didn't win an oscar in 2009.

I don't even know what else was nominated that year, but it's hard for me to believe that any screenplay was as original, efficient, and thematical as The Messenger's that year. The Messenger is a wonderful film that every moviegoer should check out.