The Messenger (2009)

The Worst Film Ever

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

What an extremely depressing movie, start to finish. Just so you know. Now, having said that, there is nothing really wrong with that. There is definitely a place for sad movies. With all of the (well-deserved) criticism of Hollywood for putting out cookie-cutter films, this is not one of them. It is serious and thoughtful. I've never been much of a fan of Woody Harrelson, what with his weird roles in such things as "Cheers" and "Natural Born Killers", and his loopy politics and hit man father, but he really brought some acting chops into this role. Samantha Morton played her role as an awkward widowed mom very well. And Lisa Joyce was nice in a small part. But I don't know if I can recommend this one.

Having read the reviews here and the DVD cover, I rented it a few days ago and watched it last night.I expected more emotional depth than what was displayed here, the film is decently acted by the stars but the characters I found mostly unlikeable with the exception of Samantha Morton's. I found Woody Harrelson's character totally shallow and his idea of investing his job with no emotion whatsoever is ridiculous. If this is factual then the US Army needs to rethink its approach. Rather than sending these stone faced men to notify the families and let them know they will later by visited by another officer who will help them through it, they should send grief counselling officers instead. To notify families in such a detached and wooden fashion is in poor taste when they are grief stricken and need a more sympathetic approach.Also the fact that a Casualty notification officer would be thrown in with no training at all, and just given a short briefing for such an important role is also beyond belief. If he screws it up this will reflect very badly on the US Army ! I found the acting of Steve Buscemi in the initial scene where he is notified of his sons death totally over the top and contrived.The best scene in the entire movie by far is the wonderfully acted sequence in which Ben Foster tries to get it on with Samantha Morton and she tells him she can't, and proceeds to tell him how she felt about her husband when they first met and how her feelings towards him changed and how he was changed by the war etc. The developing relationship Between Ben Foster & Samantha Morton was really the only thing that kept me watching up until the end and I must admit I was relieved to see the final credit roll.If asked I would recommend it only if you have nothing better to do or watch, although this film was well acted it was definitely not worth the high praise many here have heaped on it.I would give it 6/10 at best.

Well this was a nice surprise. I didn't think much to the logline but it misses the key setup detail in that this is a film about the "messengers" who have to tell the next of kin that their family member died at war. It's a fascinating concept and these types of characters have never had their due as even supporting roles. Not only is this film incredibly powerful, but it's funny, compassionate and thrilling. It has everything in just the right measure, always doing something in a unique way and rewarding the audience with information about the characters. It's the scenes of the actual "messaging" shot in one long take, which are clearly actors playgrounds, that hit hard. The film hits every beat right on time without feeling constrained by structure. The only problem I had was that I wish the photography was more consistent, as sometimes it has fantastic iconography, but sometimes it feels unplanned and out of place, especially with the infrequent zooms. Fortunately the acting (and sometimes the great soundtrack) saves it. Brilliant storytelling, brilliant filmmaking. This is how modern films should be written and how I want to make films. Loved it.9/10

Yes, Woody Harrelson not only can act but with a quality script, he will demonstrate that he is one of the premier screen actors today. This movie is great. This movie presents a strong and compelling story that grabs and keeps the audience's interest. Coping with the death of a loved one is difficult enough for anyone. It's about loss, irretrievable and irreversible loss. When other factors become involved, such as the circumstances surrounding the loss, this adds an additional dimension, that of the political. This is the case when the loss involves someone in the military, who dies in combat or for some other military-related reason. Under these circumstances, this causes the surviving family members and friends to question the meaning of the loss and the integrity of the officials who ordered the deceased into harm's way. This movie explores these themes, with the two principal characters, a captain and a sergeant, serving as metaphors for a society that is struggling to cope with death. For ultimately this is what this movie is about: death. The captain and the sergeant cope in different ways, neither of which succeed in easing the pain. Ultimately, the movie poses a question: Is the loss worth it? Watch the movie and decide for yourself.