April 29, 2010
BECK AT THE MOVIES: 'The Messenger'
Harrelson's Strongest Performance in Recent Memory as Death Notification Officer
Reviewed By Jeff Beck
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Editor's Note: "The Messenger" screens at 9 p.m. Thursday, April 29 as part of the Spring West Virginia International Film Festival at the Capitol Theatre, 123 Summers Street, Charleston. Visit: http://www.wviff.org
Richmond, VA (HNN) -- They deliver the news that nobody wants to hear, that a loved one won't be coming back from war. This is the purpose of death notification duty. There's not exactly an easy way to do it. There's no way to tell just how someone is going to react to the terrible news. But aside from the people receiving the news, how do the soldiers who have been given this duty feel after having to deliver it day after day?
With three months left to serve, Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is placed on death notification duty under the supervision of Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Stone shows him the ropes of what the duty involves, teaches him the rules, and then brings him along to see how it's done. Along the way, we learn more about these two men. Will had a girlfriend, Kelly (Jena Malone), before he went off to Iraq, but by the time he got back, she had fallen in love with someone else. Captain Stone has been at this duty for sometime apparently and is 20 years sober.
On one of their notifications, they must tell a woman, Olivia (Samantha Morton), that her husband was killed. Her reaction is very strange. She becomes very polite shaking both of their hands. In his concern, Will begins to follow her to make sure she's all right. This leads to a relationship that is very uncertain, especially with how recently Olivia lost her husband. Meanwhile, Will must deal with the fact that his old girlfriend is getting married.
The most interesting parts of this film come at the beginning and during their notifications. When Will is first assigned to this duty, Stone gives him a quick rundown of what to do and what not to do. He should follow the script, yes, there's an actual script that we hear them deliver several times that begins with how the Secretary of the Army deeply regrets informing them that their loved one has been killed in action in Iraq. They then inform them that another officer will contact them shortly about making arrangements for the funeral.
Stone also informs him that they should not touch the NOK (next of kin), don't offer a hug or anything. The only reason to touch them would be if they were to go into cardiac arrest or another medical problem. Only inform the next of kin, no one else, and do not wait for them. If they are not there, come back later. It's unclear how long Stone has been doing this, but it's obviously been long enough as he has these rules down solid.
They both witness several different reactions aside from Olivia's politeness, the most violent of which is from a man, Dale Martin (Steve Buscemi), whose son has been killed. He throws his gloves through the air, yells at them, and even spits in Will's face. Common reactions include people thinking that it must be a mistake, people who just can't believe that this is happening, and those who just break down crying.
The thing is, most people know exactly what is going on before they're even told. They see these two soldiers walking towards them and fear the worst, for there are not many reasons why they would be coming to talk to them. This is actually where another rule comes into play. Stone tells Will that they shouldn't park too close because the person being notified will see them through the window when they pull up in their car, giving them an extra minute of agony.
The performances are just right for this material. Woody Harrelson delivers his strongest performance in a long time. It is interesting to watch the change in Ben Foster's character throughout the film. He changes slowly as he has to deliver more and more notifications. These changes are small at first, but do become very noticeable. Steve Buscemi is also quite good. He does get one more scene later in the film, but he makes enough of an impact to be memorable.
When it was over, I was very surprised by just how much I was reminded of another recent film, "Up in the Air," where a man must deliver really bad news in the form of firing someone. He is also showing the ropes of his job to someone who must learn how to do what he does. They also encounter an interesting range of reactions to the bad news and both have third acts that delve more into the emotion of the people delivering the news. Both even have party scenes that didn't really seem to have a purpose in the film.
"The Messenger" turned out to be a big surprise for the end of the year. For my money, it's a film involving Iraq that has more of an impact and more of a focus than the critically acclaimed "The Hurt Locker," a film that actually takes place in Iraq. It's even more surprising to find out that this is Oren Moverman's first film as a director. The direction is subtle, but he has made one heck of a first film. 3.5/4 stars.
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BECK AT THE MOVIES: 'The Messenger'
Harrelson's Strongest Performance in Recent Memory as Death Notification Officer
Reviewed By Jeff Beck
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Editor's Note: "The Messenger" screens at 9 p.m. Thursday, April 29 as part of the Spring West Virginia International Film Festival at the Capitol Theatre, 123 Summers Street, Charleston. Visit: http://www.wviff.org
Richmond, VA (HNN) -- They deliver the news that nobody wants to hear, that a loved one won't be coming back from war. This is the purpose of death notification duty. There's not exactly an easy way to do it. There's no way to tell just how someone is going to react to the terrible news. But aside from the people receiving the news, how do the soldiers who have been given this duty feel after having to deliver it day after day?
With three months left to serve, Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is placed on death notification duty under the supervision of Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Stone shows him the ropes of what the duty involves, teaches him the rules, and then brings him along to see how it's done. Along the way, we learn more about these two men. Will had a girlfriend, Kelly (Jena Malone), before he went off to Iraq, but by the time he got back, she had fallen in love with someone else. Captain Stone has been at this duty for sometime apparently and is 20 years sober.
On one of their notifications, they must tell a woman, Olivia (Samantha Morton), that her husband was killed. Her reaction is very strange. She becomes very polite shaking both of their hands. In his concern, Will begins to follow her to make sure she's all right. This leads to a relationship that is very uncertain, especially with how recently Olivia lost her husband. Meanwhile, Will must deal with the fact that his old girlfriend is getting married.
The most interesting parts of this film come at the beginning and during their notifications. When Will is first assigned to this duty, Stone gives him a quick rundown of what to do and what not to do. He should follow the script, yes, there's an actual script that we hear them deliver several times that begins with how the Secretary of the Army deeply regrets informing them that their loved one has been killed in action in Iraq. They then inform them that another officer will contact them shortly about making arrangements for the funeral.
Stone also informs him that they should not touch the NOK (next of kin), don't offer a hug or anything. The only reason to touch them would be if they were to go into cardiac arrest or another medical problem. Only inform the next of kin, no one else, and do not wait for them. If they are not there, come back later. It's unclear how long Stone has been doing this, but it's obviously been long enough as he has these rules down solid.
They both witness several different reactions aside from Olivia's politeness, the most violent of which is from a man, Dale Martin (Steve Buscemi), whose son has been killed. He throws his gloves through the air, yells at them, and even spits in Will's face. Common reactions include people thinking that it must be a mistake, people who just can't believe that this is happening, and those who just break down crying.
The thing is, most people know exactly what is going on before they're even told. They see these two soldiers walking towards them and fear the worst, for there are not many reasons why they would be coming to talk to them. This is actually where another rule comes into play. Stone tells Will that they shouldn't park too close because the person being notified will see them through the window when they pull up in their car, giving them an extra minute of agony.
The performances are just right for this material. Woody Harrelson delivers his strongest performance in a long time. It is interesting to watch the change in Ben Foster's character throughout the film. He changes slowly as he has to deliver more and more notifications. These changes are small at first, but do become very noticeable. Steve Buscemi is also quite good. He does get one more scene later in the film, but he makes enough of an impact to be memorable.
When it was over, I was very surprised by just how much I was reminded of another recent film, "Up in the Air," where a man must deliver really bad news in the form of firing someone. He is also showing the ropes of his job to someone who must learn how to do what he does. They also encounter an interesting range of reactions to the bad news and both have third acts that delve more into the emotion of the people delivering the news. Both even have party scenes that didn't really seem to have a purpose in the film.
"The Messenger" turned out to be a big surprise for the end of the year. For my money, it's a film involving Iraq that has more of an impact and more of a focus than the critically acclaimed "The Hurt Locker," a film that actually takes place in Iraq. It's even more surprising to find out that this is Oren Moverman's first film as a director. The direction is subtle, but he has made one heck of a first film. 3.5/4 stars.
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