Friday
20Nov2009
Movie Review - 'The Messenger'
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 12:02AM | The Messenger
Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton  |
The best parts of the Mel Gibson Vietnam film We Were Soldiers did not take place on the battlefield. Instead, they were the
quiet moments when the bad news was delivered to loved ones that a soldier was killed in action. And it's an interesting perspective
to see if you've never really thought about it, particularly in that environment, where it is balanced with the a different kind of
savagery altogether.
Or so I thought at the time. And now I've seen The Messenger.
Centered on the unenviable task at hand and the relationships these soldiers forge with each other and - in a turn of events that is
strictly against protocol - the next of kin (stripped of its emotional impact by the military abbreviation NOK), The
Messenger is a poignant film without wringing the tears out of you at every opportunity. And it features very strong
performances by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton.
Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery (Foster) is new to the job, and is obviously not prepared for what it entails. The first rule of
delivering this news to the next of kin is to never make physical contact with them, which could be for personal safety, emotional
distance, or both. He is shown the ropes by grizzled veteran Capt. Tony Stone (Harrelson), who we can imagine was a lot like
Montgomery once upon a time, before the rigors of the job turned him into something else, someone more mechanical, and probably
because he had no choice.
The conflict arises from a meeting that has unexpected fallout: Montgomery tells Olivia (the always strong Samantha Morton) that her
husband was lost in battle and she reacts in an unusual way: She feels sympathy for her messenger, forced to to be forever linked
with the deaths of all of these soldiers. What's the protocol for that kind of response?
Reader Comments