The Messenger
In The Messenger, Ben Foster plays a U.S. Staff Sergeant that returns home from Iraq and is paired with the Captain of Army’s Casualty Notification Service. Later he is drawn to one of the widows played by Samantha Morton.
This is a real acting piece and all the players are fantastic here. Foster is one of those underrated actors who has come along way from 2001’s Get Over It. Morton is also terrific as the grieving widow and director Oren Moverman conveys the relationship between Foster and Morton as the severely complicated entity that it is and doesn’t take the easy way with it.
Harrelson is making a late-career comeback with the critical and commercial success of Zombieland and now with this role in The Messenger, he could be looking at an Oscar trophy in his future. His character evolves from this stiff upper lip Captain to a complex man who is almost (key word: almost) as screwed up as Foster’s character. He steals a lot of scenes here. That said, for me the best part of the film is Steve Buscemi’s brief turn as one of the Next-of-Kin. It was so refreshing to see Buscemi in a role that didn’t force him into being “the crazy guy” but actually let him show his chops.
I think this film is gathering steam right now and is an Oscar contender in a couple of fields and I fully support it as it is a moving and engaging film.
