The Messenger (2015)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Absolutely brilliant

The acting in this movie is really good.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I watched The Messenger because I saw on IMDb that it was categorized in the thriller and horror section. That was the only reason I was interested in this movie. And again the movie is categorized in the wrong section. It has absolutely nothing to do with a horror movie nor a thriller. IMDb should check movies out for themselves before categorizing them. It's very annoying. The Messenger is just a drama, and not even a good one. It's one of those movies were the story has been done before and way better. The "I see dead people" is a nice idea for a story but unless you bring something new and better then seen before it is of no point making it. The Messenger is way too slow to be entertaining and the slow violin and piano music throughout the movie doesn't help a bit. The cast is okay but also nothing that you will remember about.

Jack is a troubled adult, who's had a troubled life. In fact, everything about him is troubled, and trouble.After a major life event affected him as a child, he has since had the ability to be pestered by troubled souls, dead people, and because of this he is stamped as a mental health problem (but talking to souls in a pub looking very dishevelled and unkempt doesn't help).After a journalist is found dead, and it looking like suicide, Jack is hounded by the soul, because something wasn't quite right about his death, and he's trying to get a message to his loved one......hence the title.....If you take Randall & Hopkirk (deceased), then add elements of The Sixth Sense and Ghost, you get this quite gritty, suburban Gothic horror.Sheehan excels as our protagonist, not doing his character any favours by playing Jack as a very dis-likable person, but because of his back-story, you can forgive his shortcomings, as the narrative depicts his childhood to be less than pleasurable.The film focuses on grieving, forgiveness and guilt, as the immediate characters to Jack perceive his 'gift' as a result of his fathers death, and how the family unit changed when he and his sister became fatherless.It's a shame that the gift stemmed from sudden loss, because this just seems like a cheap excuse from the makers to make him seem like a 'weirdo' to others, and the on,y one who believes him is involved in a minor sub-plot that becomes a major twist come the end.It's not a bad film by any means, it's just disjointed and doesn't know what to do with all the sub-plots going on, and in turn, it never really wraps itself up for a satisfactory conclusion.But the cast are great, the cinematography is wonderfully bleak and cold, but I fear many will miss the grieving/loss/guilt element of the narrative and see it as a straight up horror.Worth watching though.

The Messenger is a slow burn, psycho supernatural mystery. Jack, played by Robert Sheehan, is a medium, of a scruffy, unkempt, variety. Jack's abilities have not made him rich or famous. Instead, Jack is marginalized by society and in an real sense, condemned by his talent. Jack leads a life of dispossession and isolation. This film, in large part, takes place inside Jacks head. The plot builds ever so subtly and there are segues that make you question what exactly is taking place. The question of who and what Jack is, is as much a mystery as the unfolding story of a murdered journalist. Is Jack in fact in possession of supernatural abilities that let him talk to the murdered reporter or is he, more plausibly, mentally ill? The story is explained, in part, by references to Jacks past. The movement between the past and present can be somewhat disorientating. For me this was one of the few annoyances in this film but a necessary one when the films conclusion is finally reached. The acting, especially Sheehans performance, is remarkable. Sheehan makes you empathize with and in an odd way, appreciate and understand Jack, especially when his past is brought to bear on his current predicament. All in all this is really worthwhile, very human story. Its not for the impatient so if you like you rewards early on this film may not be for you. If, however, you are willing to take the time, you may come to see what an excellent, if understated work, The Messenger is. Nine out of ten from me.

All you want from a very, very surprising movie. A skillfully written and acted movie, more please..............!Main characters are fully formed, the dialogue is rich the locations well thought out.The main characters are very human and you want more and the movie keeps giving.Young actors are well directed giving me the feeling of a fully rounded journey.I saw this at the Scottish film festival and was not expecting a small masterpiece.