Review of The Messenger (2009) by Harry W — 10 Jun 2013

The Messenger seems fascinating on the surface due to being a military tale that can stick to an independent budget and a simple story.

Soon into the film, it becomes obvious that the script has been very finely written and the film has been cast extremely well.

The Messenger serves well as an independent film since it covers a side of the war that isn't full of bullets and blood yet is challenging to have and full of sadness. The message of this is conveyed finely through the clever screenplay which delves into the mind of every character presented, and the ones left with little lines convey it with strong emotion, and there isn't a single actor in the film that isn't good to have.

Ben Foster makes a great lead and serves well as a protege to Woody Harrelson's character, providing a different look into losing innocence during wartime by being forced to deliver the news that destroys families and jerks the tears of the third-party war victims. Ben Foster displays a development of internal conflict and the discovery of new emotions in his character, and therefore his performance is good.

But Woody Harrelson takes the cake. In one of the greatest performances of his career, Woody Harrelson portrays a conflicted but patriotic soldier who serves as a guide to his protege, and delivers his clever script lines finely and achieves nothing less than enhancing his character to the extent worthy of receiving an Academy Award nomination, of which he did not fall short of. His strength at conveying emotions is impeccable in The Messenger.

Samantha Morton also provides a second side to the film with her emotionally conflicting performance as a woman faced with the loss of her other half in the war, and she brings her character to life without the audience ever being certain of what she'll do next. Her performance was good.

Lastly, Steve Buscemi pours out all the effort he can in his short screen time and despite his character's violent nature it is impossible not to sympathise with him because he has suffered dearly and can only convey it through built up rage, and it's portrayed strongly because there isn't any coaching in his voice or in his acting, that's the real emotions of Steve Buscemi the audience is bearing witness to. Steve Buscemi still had it in him.

Oren Moverman's The Messenger is a finely crafted war drama with clever character insight and simplicity to appeal to the hearts and patriotisms of the viewers.