War movies have been around since the advent of the art form. Thousands have made their way to the screen. Finding something new to say on the topic is near impossible. Examining a previously unexplored aspect of war is even more difficult to accomplish. In "The Messenger", writer-director Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon (co-writer) have found a topic I have never witnessed before: the Army's Casualty Notification service. These are the men and women who are quickly dispatched to the homes of the loved ones of soldiers that have died in service of their country. As you might imagine, it's not a joyfest.
Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is a U.S. Army officer who has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, where he distinguished himself heroically. He is partnered with Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), a veteran of the Army's Casualty Notification service. At first, Will feels his new assignment to be an unimportant one compared to the excitement of combat but he quickly finds it is every bit as difficult, at least emotionally. Will is going through his own healing process while delivering messages of tragic loss, and it eats away at him. Tony is the hardened vet who views it as a job. Just beneath the surface he is very damaged by the job but also by the twists and turns of his personal life. We gradually understand that Tony is an incredibly lonely man, scarred badly by whatever has preceded his time with Will.
Soon after starting his assignment, Will finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), a woman he has informed of the death of her husband. The scenes featuring Will and Olivia are easily the strongest and most believable in the film. All three of the lead performers do an outstanding job but when Will and Olivia are sharing time together, the film toys with greatness, especially one scene in which Will goes to see Olivia at her home. Their time spent together in the kitchen, where he clearly wants to make love to her, is handled beautifully by both actors and features superb writing. Unfortunately, the rest of the film only approaches greatness intermittently. Too many scenes are drawn out to ridiculous length and a few of the scenes should never have made it to the final cut. Everything about "The Messenger" works. It just doesn't work consistently. But don't kill the messenger. It's worthwhile.
