Review of The Messenger (2009) by Kevin L — 11 Aug 2010

The expression, "Don't kill the messenger" has a real place in the film The Messenger. The expression comes from the response often felt by someone being presented with extremely bad news. You want to lash out at the bearer of such bad news. And bad news is all that is being delivered in this emotional movie. Sort of a sequel to the Hurt Locker, The Messenger follows the story of two Army staff people whose job is to notify the NOK (Next Of Kin)that their loved one died performing this or her duty.

The performances of the two stars carry this movie. Ben Foster plays Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery, recently returned from Iraq, a decorated hero and now assigned to the Casualty Notification Team. Will survived an IED attack and is recovering from the injuries inflicted in that explosion. He is dealing with a relationship with a woman who is marrying someone else as well as a ton of guilt about those he did not succeed in saving. Though warned of the dangers of trying to be anything more than just a messenger when meeting will the ill fated families, Will ultimately fails in that goal as he becomes involved with the widow of one of his messenger assignments.

Woody Harrelson plays Captain Tony Stone, a miltary lifer who was a participant in the Gulf War. Tony appears to be inured to the task and constantly gives Will advise on how to stay aloof from the tragedy. His advise mostly involves woman and booze but we see early on that he is tortured by his own demons. He does not sleep after each NOK event and will call Will to talk in the middle of the night. Slowly, he and Will develop a strong relationship that ultimately results in each of them finding some solace in each others company.

Director Oren Moverman does a wonderful job taking a difficult subject and showing how war can devastate the home front as much as the battlefield. He also shows that war doesn't necessarily end for soldiers that make it home. Though never mentioned, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) lurks in every frame of this film. From the reactions of the NOK to the release of guilt/grief by Tony, this is a movie that admits that being a hero comes with an emotional cost. A very heavy emotional cost.

We all hope to never see two soldiers come knocking at our front door. Some messages we all would prefer to never get. Not being a big supporter of war in general, I hope this message is one that our world leaders get, and get quickly........