Onward saddened soldiers
"Angels of death" Woody Harrelson, left, and Ben Foster. (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Messenger
Running time: 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R (profanity, adult situations, nudity)
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They park down the block. That way their target has no idea it's their lives that are about to be drastically altered.
Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster don't portray burglars, murderers or even rapists in the riveting drama "The Messenger."
Instead, officers Will Montgomery (Foster) and Tony Stone are assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service.
They are grim reapers. Casually, they refer to themselves and others like them as angels of death. When a soldier falls in Iraq or Afghanistan, the knock on the door comes from these stern-faced soldiers of mercy.
Arriving in theaters in the wake of the Fort Hood, TX shooting rampage, which left 13 dead and over two dozen wounded on Nov. 5, one of this year's most powerful dramas will likely electrify emotional nerve endings with a heavier charge than it might otherwise.
Harrelson, on screen recently in the outrageous comic monster-mash "Zombieland," can also bring it as a dramatic actor. The veteran actor from Midland is the perfect seemingly hard-edged vet to star opposite Foster's mentally tortured returning war hero.
Will's got three months left to serve. The fact that his girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone) hooked up with a new fiancé when he was half a world away taking shrapnel in the eye weighs heavy on Will's heart as he delivers emotional knock-out punches to strangers.
Foster, so convincing as trigger-happy gunslinger Charlie Prince in the 2007 remake of "3:10 to Yuma," doesn't make a single false move or bad acting choice as Will.
Oren Moverman, who co-wrote Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," turns out to be a first-time director who knows his way around drama. Moverman also co-wrote this gripping screenplay with experienced producer Alessandro Camon.
Even with such a compelling story to tell, outstanding acting all around and more than adequate work from the director's chair, there's another element of note. "The Messenger" rises to a higher level every time Samantha Morton enters the frame as Olivia Pitterson, a stunned recent war widow.
Will and Olivia connect on a level that transcends sexual attraction, or even empathy. It's complicated, as they say, and Foster and Morton pull off the difficult acting assignment beautifully.
Morton is a two-time Oscar nominee for "In America" (2002) and Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999). Anyone who witnesses this deeply nuanced performance as Olivia will have no problem understanding why.
Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster don't portray burglars, murderers or even rapists in the riveting drama "The Messenger."
Instead, officers Will Montgomery (Foster) and Tony Stone are assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service.
They are grim reapers. Casually, they refer to themselves and others like them as angels of death. When a soldier falls in Iraq or Afghanistan, the knock on the door comes from these stern-faced soldiers of mercy.
Arriving in theaters in the wake of the Fort Hood, TX shooting rampage, which left 13 dead and over two dozen wounded on Nov. 5, one of this year's most powerful dramas will likely electrify emotional nerve endings with a heavier charge than it might otherwise.
Harrelson, on screen recently in the outrageous comic monster-mash "Zombieland," can also bring it as a dramatic actor. The veteran actor from Midland is the perfect seemingly hard-edged vet to star opposite Foster's mentally tortured returning war hero.
Will's got three months left to serve. The fact that his girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone) hooked up with a new fiancé when he was half a world away taking shrapnel in the eye weighs heavy on Will's heart as he delivers emotional knock-out punches to strangers.
Foster, so convincing as trigger-happy gunslinger Charlie Prince in the 2007 remake of "3:10 to Yuma," doesn't make a single false move or bad acting choice as Will.
Oren Moverman, who co-wrote Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," turns out to be a first-time director who knows his way around drama. Moverman also co-wrote this gripping screenplay with experienced producer Alessandro Camon.
Even with such a compelling story to tell, outstanding acting all around and more than adequate work from the director's chair, there's another element of note. "The Messenger" rises to a higher level every time Samantha Morton enters the frame as Olivia Pitterson, a stunned recent war widow.
Will and Olivia connect on a level that transcends sexual attraction, or even empathy. It's complicated, as they say, and Foster and Morton pull off the difficult acting assignment beautifully.
Morton is a two-time Oscar nominee for "In America" (2002) and Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999). Anyone who witnesses this deeply nuanced performance as Olivia will have no problem understanding why.
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