Film Review: Kill "The Messenger"

 A buddy movie about Casualty Notification? Are they kidding? In “The Messenger,” Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) and Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) deliver rote pronouncements of death to the next of kin of soldiers killed in Iraq. Usually the first sight of their arrival is enough to send the bereaved into attacks of vomiting and hysteria. After reciting the scripted announcement of the relative’s death, the messengers return  to their vehicle to get to know each other through combat and sexual anecdotes.

Writer/director Oren Moverman has penned a few acceptable scenes, and, even though the script as a whole is a mess, an experienced director might have made something worthwhile of it.   The central idea of the Army confronting the human price of their escapades has some promise, and there are  bits of dialogue that ring true, as when Olivia, the grieving widow played by Samantha Morton,  comments on how many flags and casseroles she has received from sympathetic neighbors.

Rather than use the death messenger gimmick as an angle from which to explore the universe of those bereaved by war,  it functions mostly as a springboard to over-acting.  When Steve Buscemi pops into the frame  to receive the news of his son’s death,   his teeth lunge out at the audience in aggressive denial.   After half a dozen of these house calls, the love story kicks in.   Will is so moved by Olivia’s reaction to her husband ‘s death that he can no longer obey the rule that forbids touching the next of kin. Soon they are on the brink of something even more intimate than a hug, and decency alone stands between them and a  fling.

advertisement

Self-serve advertising

Add our easy-to-use advertising system to any Web site. Free!

InstiAds.com

One of the worst scenes, straight out of a writer’s frustration with authority figures, has the messengers pulled over by a police officer after they run a red light.  Will goes into a ridiculous routine to show the cop how difficult the job of casualty notification can be, which fills the cop with so much guilt that he decides not to cite them for their infraction.  The penultimate scene is typical of the director’s absence of style and lack of control over his cast.  In it, A static camera records Will’s  ten minute combat anecdote as Tony sits beside him sucking in his cheeks.

The acting is dreadful, with Harrelson doing his best to contort his face into a Robert Duvall impression, and Foster even worse in his emulation of Kevin Spacey.  Tony  is supposed to be a sober alcoholic, and when he falls off the wagon, the movie falls into a drunken stupor.

Over 4,350 troops have been killed in Iraq since March of 2003.  While watching “The Messenger.”  I wondered how I would feel about the film if one or more of these casualties had been friends or relatives of mine.  People express grief  differently than do bad actors, and  it is a tasteless mockery to so carelessly treat a subject deserving of insight, tact, and empathy.

The PostGlobe relies on your donations. Please support this writer's work by going to our donate page and let us know where you'd like your donation to go.