Being thoroughly sick of American war movies, the only reason I went to see The Messenger so soon after The Hurt Locker was because it came highly recommended. Sadly, this movie did not live up to those recommendations at all, and was a major disappointment.
The Messenger is about Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a decorated war hero, who is assigned to work for the Casualty Notification Office. His immediate superior, Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) shows him the ropes of one of the worst jobs on record. The two Army officers have to arrive on the doorsteps of bereaved next of kin (before they hear about it on the news), and recite a scripted message from the secretary of the Army breaking the bad news before beating a hasty retreat.
Stone is a recovering alcoholic and lifer in the military but takes his work very seriously. He has honed the protocol of this work to the point where he can remain as emotionally disconnected as possible. Montgomery, on the other hand, has returned from his tour of duty to find that his ex-girlfriend is engaged to be married. This news, coupled with the fact that his war-time experiences have emotionally stripped him, means that he struggles to come grips with his new assignment. The emotional disconnection encouraged by Stone is an anathema to someone so desperate to learn to connect meaningfully with others again.
This results not only in tension between the two, but also in a very creepy relationship that develops between Montgomery and a newly widowed Army wife (Samantha Morton). His desperation leads to him crossing lines not only of army protocol but also of basic human morality. Montgomery’s struggles are mirrored by Stone whose has intimacy issues of his own as reflected in his alcoholism and numerous one night stands. The Messenger revolves around whether or not these two broken messengers of death can possibly find inner healing in a line of work that would seem to only encourage further emotional disconnectedness.
While the plot sounds promising, and could really have had something profound and moving to say to a situation that many people struggle with, it ultimately falls between too many stools. Thrown into the whole notification process is not only the creepy love story mentioned already, but also a standard-issue buddy movie between Stone and Montgomery. Their cringingly embarrassing bonding rituals dominate the second half of the movie to the point that the overall message remains thoroughly unresolved. While unresolved messages are often employed and can prove effective, The Messenger takes such a looong and winding road around its message that it ends up not actually satisfactorily engaging with it at all. Up in the Air (with George Clooney) had a similar theme with a somewhat unresolved ending and yet seemed to engage more fully with the whole issue.
So despite average to good performances from Foster and Harrelson, it is difficult to escape the feeling that by the end, director Oren Moverman has let a potentially good film slip through his grasp. This means I cannot award The Messenger more than 2 stars out of 5. Please be warned that The Messenger fully justifies its 16 age restriction with fairly strong language, nudity and sexual content.