Dir. Oren Moverman, USA, 2009, 112 mins
Cast: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton
Review by Eva Moravetz
Since the first Iraq War and the continuing ‘war on terror’, there has been a string of films touching on the subject of conflicts in the Middle East and what it means to live as a soldier combating an (often invisible) enemy in hot and hostile territory. Some of these try to show a different angle; for example, Sam Mendes’s Jarhead (2005) explores the testosterone-fuelled anticipation and boredom while being stationed in the desert, whereas Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker (2009) delves into the world of bomb disposal experts and the mind-boggling adrenalin rush experienced at close encounters with death. With The Messenger, New York based Israeli director and former infantry soldier Oren Moverman presents us with a very different perspective.
After an injury in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is assigned back to the home front, in sleepy, suburban New Jersey, as a casualty notification officer under the direction of Capt. Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). After Will is dumped by his girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone), a friendship develops between the two men, complicated by Will’s attraction to Olivia (Samantha Morton), a young widow. Will’s pursuing a woman whose husband has just been killed brings up uncomfortable moral questions and causes tension between himself and Tony. At the same time, the seemingly heartless control Will is ordered to assert over his feelings while dealing with the bereaved starts to get the better of him.
The Messenger is emotional as much as Jarhead is philosophical and The Hurt Locker psychological. However, emotion is tightly suppressed here under the strict and disciplined military uniform of the CNO’s to such extent that one can sense an imminent outburst of it at any moment. ‘I need men of stolid nature, no tears’ Tony warns Will on the first day. ‘Do not touch the NOK!’ he shouts when Will makes his first ‘mistake’ while notifying relatives. However, Will finds it harder and harder to comply with the rules. ‘Fuck the procedures!’ he yells at Tony at an especially pent up moment.
Both Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton give brilliant performances but the effectiveness of the film, to a large extent, is due to the charisma and the astonishing emotional depth Ben Foster projects onto the screen. He speaks with his eyes and movements (or the lack of them) and merely looking at him is often sufficient to understand his inner life fully. Will’s conflict is deftly emphasized by music; every time he is alone in his room blaring heavy metal is played to underline his bottled up pain and frustration.
The Messenger is not a political movie; there is no mention of countries or enemies; the characters take no sides. One of the few instantly recognisable references to the Iraq War is when womanising Tony philosophises: ‘All this bullshit; Crusades and Jihad. Nobody gets laid. That’s why everybody’s angry.’ Humorous lines like this pepper the film strategically together with tragicomic moments like Tony and Will gate-crashing Kelly’s wedding, in order to give us some relief from the serious topic and emotional pain we are subjected to.
Will’s deepening relationship with the freshly widowed Olivia might be frowned upon as a taboo but it is played out subtly and beautifully and never becomes obtrusive. It serves to underline Will’s desperate need to connect with somebody. Olivia is a person who instinctively understands his turmoil and relates it to her own. Will is a casualty of war but he does not want to remain a victim and he needs someone like Olivia to start life again.
The film is not really about the casualties of war but the people who are left behind to pick up the pieces. Oren Moverman intends to show, in The Messenger, a perspective which is not political or strategic but personal; the price we pay long after the sounds of battle have gone. He succeeds beautifully.
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