tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

The Messenger revolves around a U S Army officer assigned to casualty notification, considered one of the least desirable jobs in the military. The officer faces complex moral choices when he becomes involved with a soldier's widow. Ben Foster, who has terrific in 3:10 to Yuma and 30 Days of Night plays the lead role in this film.

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In his most powerful performance to date, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband's death, Will's emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival. Featuring tour-de-force performances from Foster, Harrelson and Morton, and a brilliant directorial debut by Oren Moverman,  The Messenger brings us into the inner lives of these outwardly steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity.

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Michelle Kung of the Wall Street Journal wrote the following review:

Shot in 28 days in New Jersey, "The Messenger" is a far cry from Todd Haynes' 2007 Bob Dylan "biopic" "I'm Not There," which Moverman co-wrote. When asked how he chooses his projects, given their wide thematic range, Moverman said, "The movies tend to find me." He added that he was interested in all projects, whether they be super-conceptual like "I'm Not There," or "The Messenger," which was brought to the Israeli native's attention by producer Alessandro Camon four years ago. Furthermore, by focusing on the families of the fallen soldiers, he was able to focus on the humanity of everyone involved, instead of getting caught up in the politics. Speaking of combat, films about the Iraq War tend to be DOA at the box office. How did Moverman, as first-time director, convince producers to get behind yet another war film? "By convincing them that this really is different from the others," he said. "I really wanted to show the consequences of war, without needing to show the war itself." [ read more ]

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What's on your mind? What are some of your reactions after watching the trailer? Are you a fan of Ben Foster? Samantha Morton? Let us know what you think!
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