The Messenger

It is disappointing when I can't get to see all the Oscar nominated films before the awards. This year I missed out on seeing Woody Harrelson in this film and his best supporting actor nomination.

Despite the fact that they do not make any money Hollywood is still making films about the war in the Middle East. As brilliant as 'The Hurt Locker' is, hardly anyone saw it. This film takes an interesting aspect of the war to analyse. In many ways it could be about any war not just the current Middle East conflict. It is about soldiers who have to visit the families of soldiers who have died and break the distressing news to them. The interesting thing about this film is that in this modern day and age the 'messengers' are racing against the media and Internet to be the ones to break the news to the families. News like this can travel fast and the army need to be the ones to do it right. But you would not want a job like this. There are so many rules involved and you have to be so 'clinical' and detached about the announcement that it can be quite devastating. Each person also deals with it differently and in varied ways. These messengers are not allowed to show emotion which can be strange. While I understand why they have to be that way it still feels wrong. Will Montgomery, however, becomes attached to one woman and breaks a few of the rules. In many ways there are similarities with 'The Hurt Locker'. They are about soldiers who become addicted to war and have trouble back home. Will is injured so he has can't go back to the war and is stuck doing a job lacking in the action he craves. Will's partner, Tony Stone, deals with it differently and builds up a tough facade to hide his pain.


I have very mixed feelings about Ben Foster. I think he is an excellent actor, but he is always in really intense roles. To me what ever part he is playing he comes across as very tightly wound and looks like he might explode at any minute. Here he is very good but while he may not be waiting to explode he still looks like he would rather be somewhere else. Which is what he's supposed to be playing. So it is one of his best performances. I think he needed to bring his best to the film when you look at what he is up against. Woody Harrelson is one of my favourite actors who does a wide variety of films and can handle the drama as well as the comedy. This would have to be one of his best performances. While not quite as good as Christoph Waltz, he is still excellent. Samantha Morton gives another one of her very subdued performances as the woman Will becomes involved with.


An excellent drama about an aspect of war that we do not normally get to see. It is also worth seeing for the excellent performance of the great Woody Harrelson.