There is a film that succeeds as a cerebral drama, concerned with the impact of war on the individual, free of the genre’s typical tropes and remarkably fresh as a result. And believe it or not, I’m not talking about “The Hurt Locker.”
Of course, it is unfair to Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger” to so quickly evoke the name of one of the year’s most critically acclaimed films by way of comparison. And Kathryn Bigelow’s sterling 2009 gem doesn’t deserve to be jerked down a peg by showcasing the merits of another, more under-the-radar film.
But the fact remains, these two efforts are departures from the status quo in a dramatic subset that is perhaps more artistically important now than it has been in 60 years. And Moverman’s film has settled, for this viewer, much more completely than Bigelow’s. It instantly stands out as one of the year’s most powerful dramas.
The nuts and bolts of the story concern a pair of military officers charged with the heavy burden of notifying next of kin in the event of a combat casualty. Woody Harrelson’s Anthony “Tony” Stone has been wading through the waters of this “sacred” task for some time and has come to identify its importance with a strict regimen followed each time out.
Ben Foster’s Will Montgomery, meanwhile, has been relegated to Tony’s charge in the wake of a heavy combat experience. He is neither comfortable with the emotional workload of the job nor, seemingly, convinced of its importance over his battlefield duties.
The narrative isn’t focused in any traditional manner. It serves up what is, essentially, a series of vignettes, Tony and Will notifying next of kin in a variety of atmospheres. These are powerfully acted by supporting, basically cameo players such as Peter Friedman, Halley Feiffer, Steve Buscemi and Angel Caban, among others.