One of the Last Movies I Saw

I haven't been overly complimentary about several of the movies I watched over the holiday season, but The Messenger, directed by Oren Moverman and starring Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson, is a truly first-rate piece of work. The plot follows two soldiers whose assignment is to notify the next of kin when a family member has been killed in Iraq. It addresses how devastating war can be on those who don't necessarily experience combat directly, but still must contend with the shock of its consequences. The brilliance of the film is how deftly Moverman demonstrates how each character is conditioned by their own unique set of circumstances to react to the news that someone they love has died. All the responses ring true, though each is different (and this is as true of the messengers of the title as the people they encounter in their mission). Samantha Morton gives a stunning performance of a young wife and mother who, while clearly devastated and disoriented, may also be somehow relieved when she learns of her husband's fate. She really nails the trauma that results from her own conflicted ambivalence. Likewise, Ben Foster, playing the one character who has seen war close-up, conveys an instinctual grasp of how impossible it is to share that experience with those to whom he carries the bad news. It is a gripping, emotional film that never panders to simplistic notions of patriotism or knee-jerk anti-war sentiment, but rather deals with its characters in an honest and respectful manner that ultimately demonstrates their shared humanity. There aren't a lot of movies out there that seem interested in doing that, and it would be gratifying to see one that does garner even a fraction of the attention of over-blown nonsense like Avatar.