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The Messenger
R0 - America - Oscilloscope Laboratories Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (26th May 2010). |
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The Film
 2009 was a rather mediocre year for films both mainstream and independent. I hesitate to say it was a “bad” year, because every year produces hundreds of films that are both loved and reviled by many, but there wasn’t a whole lot that really stood out and demanded the attention of both filmgoers and critics alike, aside from a few notable exceptions which I’ll keep to myself. Argue “Avatar” (2009) all you want, but I’d hardly say it was a critical darling. No, that honor mostly went to “The Hurt Locker” (2009), a film which managed to sweep most major awards ceremonies despite the fact that it was one of the least-commercially successful frontrunners in years. Even more surprising was that it focused on the war in Iraq, a subject which is typically ignored at the box office. Lesser know to the public, however, is a film which equals “The Hurt Locker” in intensity and awards-caliber performances: “The Messenger” (2009). Their main difference being that “The Hurt Locker” was a physically intense experience, whereas “The Messenger” would be its equal in emotional intensity. Anchored firmly by astounding performances from Ben Foster (who just keep impressing me time and again) and Woody Harrelson (enjoying something of a career resurgence as of late), the film takes a long, hard look at what may arguably be the second most difficult job during wartime, that of a casualty notification officer. Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is an Iraq war veteran, and decorated hero, who has come back to the United States to serve out the remainder of his service at home. Upon arrival, he is given the role of casualty notification officer, and he is to report to this duty with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Stone has been at this job for a long time, and he is sure to firmly impart the rules of the duty to Sgt. Montgomery. Most importantly, the soldiers are to never touch the NOK (next of kin) or offer anything other than the intended information and condolences of the United States Army. But Montgomery, coming fresh off of a broken affair with an ex, Kelly (Jena Malone), finds himself drawn to a newly-widowed mother, Olivia (Samantha Morton). If it weren’t for the romantic subplot involving Will and Olivia, which, in my opinion, stops the film dead in its tracks, this could almost be viewed as a documentary. The first scene where Will and Tony go to the home of a fallen soldier to notify his mother is intense beyond words, and you instantly realize how unimaginably difficult such a job must be. And, yet, it’s just that: a job. These men have to swallow their emotions, and occasionally their pride, to perform as unenviable a task as I can imagine. Each of their encounters carries with it a distinct emotional weight. Some of the recipients break down and cry, others curse them, spit at them, tell them that they should be the ones dying in Iraq, not driving around here delivering news. Everyone has a different reaction to hearing the worst news imaginable and, as Sgt. Stone says early on in the film, there’s “never a satisfied customer”. Now, I’ll give director Oren Moverman some credit for not taking the film’s romance into clichéd territory. It would have been all too easy for Will and Olivia to find themselves falling deeply for each other, considering each is on the rebound, and shift the focus of the film from Will and Tony’s sworn duty to a hackneyed military romance/drama. But Moverman does well in establishing that there is something there between these two fragile, damaged people. The moments they share exhibit a raw, physical need for contact rather than a need for something deeper or more emotional. But, unfortunately for their story, this subplot only served to slow down the film’s pace considerably. Not an easy feat when you consider that this isn’t a quick-paced film to begin with. I’m glad that the romance didn’t blossom as fully as it may have in other films, but these were the only times that I considered checking my watch, if you catch my drift. Woody Harrelson is the main reason why anything would take a backseat here. His character, Capt. Tony Stone, is a fascinating creature, and he breathes such vital life into the film that I really can’t see it working as well with anyone else. Here is a man whose only tour of duty, his only chance to get “baptized”, came during Desert Shield, a war where there was little in the way of combat. And this upsets him greatly. There’s a scene late in the film where Will relays his tale of heroics in battle to Stone while the two sit on a couch, and afterwards Stone breaks down crying, possibly from the emotion of Will’s story, but more likely because he knows he’ll never get that experience he lost out on. Stone is a former alcoholic who still hangs around bars, ordering glasses of water and hitting on the local bartenders. He tries to hide his emotions, something which is especially paramount considering his line of work, but he eventually warms up to Will and they become buddies. I hesitate to say “friends” because you can sense a tenuous undercurrent to their friendship, like neither one is truly “all there” anymore and can’t fully embrace a friendship, but they bond over a shared military duty. Harrelson unquestionably deserved his nomination for the Best Supporting Actor category, and if it weren’t for Christoph Waltz’s pitch-perfect role in “Inglourious Basterds” (2009), I would say the trophy should have gone to him. Though he may be overshadowed, Ben Foster really brings his A-game to the role of Sgt. Montgomery. Foster is someone who has slowly crept up on my list of actors to watch. He’s easily one of the most versatile young actors of today, a status he continually reaffirms with roles in westerns, horror films, sci-fi flicks, dramas and comedy. His performances here is no less award-worthy than Harrelson’s, but Woody is just so damn good in his role that anytime he’s not on screen you keep wondering when he’ll pop up next. But Foster gives such a strong, stoic performance as a wounded veteran who is trying to reintroduce himself to civilian life, or at least a life not on the battlefield. You can see him start to come apart at the seams during some particularly emotional scenes, especially when he and Tony crash an engagement party he wasn’t exactly invited to. He’s a guy who’s learned to take what life throws at him without batting an eyelash, a trait most exemplified during a nasty spat with a recently-informed parent (Steve Buscemi!) who resents the information Will has just given him. I’d be hard-pressed to come up with two better actors to shoulder the onus of this picture than the duo we’re given.
Video
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen image starts off a bit shaky – the picture is hazy, a little too soft, and looks washed out. But as the film progresses, the image begins to show some stability. The standard-definition image looks well-processed and sharp. Though finer details aren’t as easily noticeable in SD, the picture still showcases some impressive detail in shots dealing with close-ups of facial features or static objects. Black levels are rich and deep, never washed out – though they are also far and few between. The image maintains an impressive sheen of film grain which aids in the providing a greater sense of realism for this subject matter. Though colors do not “pop” off the screen, the picture retains a solid palette which is faithfully reproduced here on DVD.
Audio
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track is a very subtle affair. Part of what makes this film so powerful is the lack of sensory-overloaded, dynamic sound; the sparse nature of the track requires you to focus on the events unfolding on film, so the ambience is a positive. That being said, dialogue is nicely balanced in the front channels. The rear speakers don’t come into play very often, even during some scenes in public where they could have been better utilized, but they do fill out some background noise in some key scenes. I don’t think my LFE track did much, if anything, during the runtime. Not that there was really a moment where I thought its use would be applicable. There is also an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track available. Subtitles are included in English only.
Extras
“The Messenger” delivers a modest set of bonus features on this DVD. Included is an audio commentary, several featurettes, the theatrical trailer, bonus trailers and DVD-ROM content. The audio commentary featuring director/co-writer Oren Moverman, producer Lawrence Inglee, and actors Ben Foster & Woody Harrelson isn’t as engaging as I had expected considering the number of participants involved. Much of the discussion is relegated to the actors discussing their craft and approach to the film’s themes, while Moverman talks about what drew him to this project and how he shot many of the scenes. I did enjoy learning about how much of the film was improvised on set. Harrelson and Foster were given some slack to give their scenes a greater sense of verisimilitude, and I’d say the film benefited from that tremendously. “Notification” (4:3) is a featurette which runs for 24 minutes and 6 seconds. Actually, this is more of a mini-documentary, if anything. This piece takes a look at the job of real life military casualty notification officers, the casualty assistance officers who aid families after the news has been delivered and the families themselves who discuss the feeling when an officer arrived at their home to deliver the news. It’s so easy to think of dead soldiers as numbers being reported on the news, but it’s something much different to see the lives that are changed by even one single death. “Going Home: Reflections From the Set” (4:3) is a featurette which runs for 11 minutes and 4 seconds. The cast & crew of the film discuss the message that the picture is trying to convey, talk a bit about the difficulty of operating in such a job and how they approached their roles in the film. It’s a brief piece, but they do manage to interview an impressive number of people involved here. “Variety Screening Series Q&A with the Cast and Crew” (4:3) is a group interview featurette which runs for 27 minutes and 43 seconds. The Arclight Theater, located in Hollywood, CA, does these post-screening Q&A sessions from time to time, a few of which I’ve been fortunate enough to attend. Here, they have brought together director Oren Moverman, co-writer Alessandro Camon, producer Lawrence Inglee, Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski and actors Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster to field questions from the audience in attendance about the film and their respective roles. There's a theatrical trailer for the film which runs for 2 minutes 18 seconds. Finally, there are some bonus trailers for other Oscilloscope releases: - “Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot” runs for 2 minutes and 31 seconds. - “Wendy and Lucy” runs for 1 minute and 37 seconds. - “Scott Walker: 30th Century Man” runs for 1 minute and 40 seconds. - “Burma VJ” runs for 2 minutes and 29 seconds. - “Terribly Happy” runs for 2 minutes and 16 seconds. The shooting script for the film is available as a .pdf file when inserted into a DVD-ROM drive on a computer.
Packaging
The single-disc comes housed in Oscilloscope’s standard labyrinthine recycled packaging, but with an additional slipcover to house the hot mess. The whole thing is rather ornate, in an eco-conscious, hippie kinda way. There is also an essay from Anthony Swofford, writer of “Jarhead” (which was adapted into a 2005 film of the same name), on the inside panel.
Overall
I’d consider “The Messenger” to be the emotional equal in intensity to “The Hurt Locker”. It’s a tough film to watch at times, not because of anything graphic shown or voiced on-screen, but because as you watch it, you realize that this really is someone’s job, and there are lots of real people out there who have had these very same house calls made to them. The picture quality is solid for DVD, and the audio is sufficient even if it does little to impress. The extra features only further enhance what is already a solid presentation.
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