The movie is long. It repeats too much. To see how it affects the character, you do not need to see it so many times. It is a film that if it were shorter would win many points.The actors are very good, but Harrelson is a very good actor, that is not discovering anything new.At least, do not waste time in sex, that's to be grateful. It does well. No need to see what to know what will happen.Photography does not help much. It is not a pretty photograph. It is austere without more.The director, directs characters, but does not see that there is a film left. The plans are basic. It does not place the camera well. He does not know how to narrate with her. It does not bore but it stagnates.It lets itself be seen.

The Messenger is an endearing film with themes regarding the psychological aspects of war. One thing to note is this is not a war film. There are no battles and not one scene is located in Iraq. However, there is this one powerful scene that has war being described in monologue. Another thing to note is the film is very painful to watch and the reactions from the loved ones of the deceased are normal reactions and they are quite emotional. The film is a small film, but it is a very powerful film. This film is about a staff sergeant named Will Montgomery who just returned from overseas to recover from injuries. He is assigned as a casualty notification officer paired with the strict Captain Stone. He is told the rules of how to do this job, but the question of ethics come into play thanks to a newly-formed widow, Olivia. The acting is very strong. Woody Harrelson is one of my favorite actors and he can do no wrong in my book. His portrayal as the recovering alcoholic Tony Stone is just incredibly powerful. Ben Foster also delivers a career-best performance as the lonely soldier attracted to Samantha Morton's character, Olivia. Morton did an excellent job as well. Overall, The Messenger is a movie that shows what happens during the home aspect of the war and just how hard it is to notify loved ones of their soldier's death. It's a moving portrayal of how two men attempt to keep their moral up and be as strong-willed as possible. That makes it even harder to watch the film. The realism of this movie is quite extraordinary. A small film, but a powerful film nonetheless. I rate this film 9/10.

After paying his dues with thankless supporting roles, Ben Foster finally gets to display his leading man chops. What fine chops they are too. Foster oozes confidence on the screen. His natural talent shines through. Here he plays a man given of the duty of informing soldier's next of kin of their demise. Teamed with Woody Harrelson, the pair visit a number of homes. Each one is like some new episode of a fascinating series of shorts. Each family deals with the grief in a different way. It's a great insight into that brief 10 second moment in life where everything changes. It's also hard to capture that gut-punching realization, something this film does very well. Towards the end the film wonders off, becoming a buddy road movie in the vain of Sideways. I felt the wedding scene was unnecessary, but as a whole this should be one of the strong contenders come award season.

Even securing Hollywood veteran Woody Harrelson his second Oscar nomination, the film has eluded me until now, and a long overdue viewing proves it is an overlooked gem on the recent war-trauma film list. The breakthrough effort of the film is its one-of-a-kind perspective, with zero scenes from the violent frontline (including the usual gambit of fly-on-the-wall clips), the modus operandi aims at the ominous casualty notification soldiers and one theatrical oomph originates from the various poignant reactions from the next-of-kins of dead soldiers in Iraq when they are being notified, a faintly tricky scheme to gain the empathy towards both the film and its main characters, which is a laudable feat and very operative due to a splendid cast and unostentatious script (the formality of notification is swell written).Budding as one of the versatile young actors in Hollywood, Ben Foster excels in his not-so- frequent leading role as an ostensible war-hero plagued by a hidden secret, typifies ideally a post-war anguish-tortured individual. Foster generates a magnificent screen chemistry both with his tutor-cum-friend Woody Harrelson (a well-developed supporting role as Foster's superior captain, whose behind-the-scene background story is finely underlined by Harrelson's scene-stealing faculty) and with a never-disheartening Samantha Morton, the paragraph when Morton unravels her inner affection and grief to Foster in her home is a total tour-de-force. So, the war-blasting viewpoint has been established in both cases with its direct victims potently (soldiers and their families), all the proofs are indisputable, and for majority of its audience who has no mighty to change any political imbroglio towards warfare, the film at least hardens the determination of respecting each individual in a more altruistic way and maybe the world will get better day by day.