The Messenger

A poignant, insightful drama about U.S. involvement in the Middle East in which the war itself is never onscreen—no battlefield explosions, no harrowing flashbacks—The Messenger revolves around the relationship between two Army officers deployed to deliver the news of a soldier's death to the next of kin. After being wounded in Iraq, heroic Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) has only three months left on his enlistment when he's reassigned to Casualty Notification duty. His new commanding officer, Capt. Tony Stone (Oscar-nominated Woody Harrelson), is a boisterous, by-the-book career soldier and recovering alcoholic who not only seems psychologically inured to the grim task at hand but also finds Montgomery's attitude overly empathetic and inappropriate, especially in dealing with a particular soldier's widow, Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton). Brooding, stress-filled Montgomery is still recovering, however, from the disheartening discovery that his ex-girlfriend, Kelly (Jena Malone), is now engaged to someone else. Stone's rigidly robotic instructions (park down the block, don't say “good morning,” and don't touch mourning family members) chafe against Montgomery's humane sensibilities with their inherent emotional distancing. “It's a peculiar job,” Stone admits. “There's no such thing as a satisfied customer.” To relieve what would otherwise be an unrelenting chronicle of distress-filled vignettes, shot with a handheld camera, Israel-born writer-director Oren Moverman and his co-writer Alessandro Camon consciously inject light-hearted moments that occasionally misfire, but Harrelson and Foster both deliver impressive and compelling performances. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Oren Moverman, producer Lawrence Inglee, and costars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson, a “Variety Screening Series” Q&A with cast and crew (27 min.), a “Notification” featurette on real-life U.S. Army Casualty Notification Officers (25 min.), a “Going Home: Reflections from the Set” featurette (12 min.), a PDF shooting script, and trailers. The Blu-ray release includes a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a powerful film.] (S. Granger)