In war, people either die or survive. Whether soldiers return with crippled legs and arms or alive and well, they always return with a crippled soul. The picture “Messenger” is not about death, and not about those who died, it is about those who survived and continue to live with the war every day.
These are the soldiers who returned from the war and those who suffered indirectly – the relatives and friends of the victims. And although the film very clearly shows the grief experienced by military families, “The Messenger” is still more about the silent pain of people who survived the war.
What do you want to do? Family, bachelor life, college, work?
- Don't worry about me. For me, this whole life is a toilet.
Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is a typical representative of the “lost generation”. “The Lost Generation” is a term applied to young people involved in world wars, but has not lost its relevance today. Sergeant Montgomery joined the army at a young age, and at the end of his service he can no longer live a normal life, he does not know what to do, where to go. Having survived all the horrors of war, the death of his comrades, Will no longer sees the meaning of life. He even tried to end his life by jumping off a roof, but stayed alive. He has no personal life, his beloved girlfriend marries another, while he binds himself to a hopeless relationship with one of his "clients" - a woman who just lost her husband in the war. Will's life is now one of loneliness and grief.
It's like coming back from another planet.
- What do you mean? I'm fine. I'm home, baby. Home, sweet home...
In contrast to Montgomery, the film features Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), the head of the Combat Loss Notification Group and the nameless guy from the bar. These guys get married, walk around, have fun with friends, tell stories from the military past, in general, live a normal life. But this is only at first glance. If you look closely, you can see that they have a gaping wound in their soul, a pain that only a person who has been there on the battlefield can understand.
And Captain Stone, married three times and drinking water with lemon, is actually trying to forget himself with the help of alcohol and entertainment.
Why are you alive? Why aren't you dead? Why aren't you there now?
Screams, sobs, curses fly in the back of Captain Stone and Sergeant Montgomery as they leave, once again expressing condolences "on behalf of the Secretary of Defense" to the families of the fallen soldiers. An angry father thinks that his son, who died in the war, was unlucky, but he will never think about the life of the soldier who returned. Maybe he's unhappy, maybe he's suffering, or maybe he's dead inside. The film "Messenger" will show those injuries on the fate of people who leave the war, but who remain closed to prying eyes.
There's a quiet cry around. Sitting parents soldier dressed in black clothes with his head down with a handkerchief in hand. Behind are friends who knew him from a civilian. The flag is pulled over the coffin. A dozen cadets nervously hold a brick-faced gun without emotion. All eyes are directed to the coffin where a man is already without life. The priest holds the Bible and reads a verse from it. The child looks at it all and his child's consciousness is not yet fully aware of the seriousness of what is happening, but only records in the brain for further analysis as an adult. Shot! Shudder! The bagpipe begins to sing a sad dithyramb to the deceased. We can still hear a quiet cry around.
Oren Moverman's 2009 film The Messenger meets almost all the criteria of the drama genre: the theme of death, post-military life and proven love with a curved bromance.
The film tells the story of two soldiers whose profession is one of the most controversial in the world. Informing parents and neighbors about dead soldiers in war. Not everyone can bear such a burden.
Demobilized war hero Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) returns home to the United States. He only has three months to serve. The soldier has problems with his leg and his eye. His superiors put forward his candidacy for the job of informing about the death of the fallen in the war. The soldier is attached to the experienced captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). A fundamentally cynical and unpleasantly rude person, but who knows his business takes Montgomery as a protégé.
Man is a creature who feels sympathy for his fellow humans on an instinctive level. The death of other homogeneous causes in an individual with a healthy psyche a deep abstracted outburst of experiences. At the same time, there is a natural phenomenon about the awareness of one’s own inevitable death of the same individual, involuntarily contributing to a depressed state of a person.
In the course of the events in the film, the partners learn about each other more as a person, as a soldier, slowly putting aside the protocol of actions and words. Montgomery shows himself to be a capable apprentice to the captain and beyond. There is even a friendship between them. Will begins to have feelings for the widow of a deceased soldier. Is it moral? Is that right? Unethical and contrary to protocol! But a person’s feelings are not always logical. This is the great paradox of life - love.
The drama worked. Predictability of the plot content will not leave an irritable taste, but almost the opposite. Despite the severity of the chosen theme of death and its consistent effect on the living, a simple motto is formed - Live on!
7 out of 10
How many American military films have been made recently? Remember? Now think of one that's worth it. I only have "Black Hawk Down" and "Basic Bastards" on my head.
The genre of “war film” lacked a new look at the very mundane military life, “The Messenger” just shows us it. After all, as is customary in Hollywood, let’s make another film about the Second World War and as they say “peeple scoops”. “The Envoy” tells us the story of a U.S. sergeant named Will, he is a brave soldier who has repeatedly shed blood for his homeland, but this is not the task, he is assigned a new job – he must personally inform his next of kin about the dead soldiers. In this difficult hypostasis, he is helped by Captain Tony Stone, who has no small experience in this position. Will does not like this job, he just can not stand all the bitterness of the people he sees. Will and Tony develop a strong friendship, but they are both not happy in their personal lives, Will was abandoned by a girl, and Tony is a bachelor by nature. One day, when Will and Tony go to tell the terrible news of the death of another soldier, Will falls in love with one of the widows. If you think about it, it's completely absurd and it's just not acceptable, but with another heart you can not order.
The painting has three main advantages. One: interesting idea. Personally, I have never seen or even heard of such a military post. It was very interesting to see how this unpleasant process happened. Everything that happens is very close to reality. Two: stylistic pitch. The whole film flies in one breath, the color scheme, scenery, cinematography are done so that you will not find fault. Three: acting. Ben Foster played above all praise, a very strong image, he opened and turned inside out the entire inner soul of his hero, in appearance he inspires confidence and reliability, but in his soul there is a lot that eats, it is these experiences that the actor opened to the viewer. We are used to seeing Woody Harrelson in such roles. As always, single, as always fun, as always cool. The charisma of this guy doesn't matter.
If you want to watch something new from the genre of “war film” then “Messenger” will pleasantly surprise you.
9 out of 10
A smart film that makes gray matter work. There is something to think about and not necessarily at leisure sitting on the terrace with a cup of fragrant coffee or something stronger. A drama at its core, asking vital questions. And one in my opinion is: should I send a specially trained man from the military at all, so that he informs his wives that their husband, as Vysotsky sang, did not return from the battle? And the answer does not hide like a criminal from justice, he is on the surface: it is necessary and necessary. So that widows do not feel lonely and abandoned, so that the children of heroes do not feel orphaned. So people like Sergeant Montgomery and Captain Tony Stone just can't do without it. No, I'm lying. Of course, it is possible to do this, but it will be another life in which a person does not feel the elbow of his neighbor, he belongs entirely to himself and his inconsolable grief, which cannot be right from any point of view. Even when he insists on being alone, forget about a bottle or loneliness.
He also played the role of Captain Stone. I won’t say that the uniform is good for Woody Harrelson, it’s an obvious fact, as well as that Captain Stone’s behavior and motives fit into Harrelson’s inner world. It is no accident that he is entrusted with the duties of preparing Sergeant Montgomery for this difficult job.
A serious movie that needs analysis. Psychologically calibrated and honed. It will not be superfluous to get acquainted with this film and this topic.
U.S. Army Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is released from the hospital after being seriously injured in Iraq. Before the end of his service, he has three months left and for this period, the command appoints him to the Combat Loss Notification Group, under the leadership of Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). The task of this unit is both simple and complex at once - they must be the first to inform the relatives of soldiers killed in the war about the death of their loved ones. Will is absolutely unprepared to deal with a new nightmare, when he has to keep calm, to list the heartbroken father or mother details of how their child died and most of the time sits at home, pushing his emotions inside to loud music. But one morning, they appear in the courtyard of Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton), who is unusually persistent about the news of the loss of her husband. Will is so impressed with a strong and humble woman that he is imbued with bright feelings.
This is a very good drama that tells about people of an unusual profession and allows you to look at the war from a completely new side. Despite the minimal budget and the fact that it was almost not advertised, in terms of emotionality, the picture will give odds to many more famous representatives of the genre. It is not often possible to see how war heroes turn into the most natural angels of death.
In addition, the topic of the difficult adaptation of a soldier in a peaceful society is also well disclosed here. Stone and Montgomery behave like a fish thrown on land - both aggressive, drink a lot, but still fanatically try to do their duty, even if they do not shoot around anymore. The captain and sergeant find common ground with incredible difficulty, because they do not remember anything but screams, explosions and automatic queues, and there is no desire to talk about it. At the same time, they are brought together every day when the two of them appear on someone’s doorstep to change someone’s life forever. Tony and Will quickly begin to support each other after a heartbreaking meeting with relatives of the victims, trying not to let sadness overwhelm them. The empathy of these two is difficult to explain in words, but it seems to me that anyone who has ever extended a helping hand, secretly wishing to receive the same gesture in response, will surely understand what I am talking about.
Given the chosen atmosphere, the actors here fell serious responsibility, so I am doubly happy to report that the small casting perfectly coped with its task. Foster, Harrelson and Morton very vividly played the truly traumatized both physically (Will was injured by shrapnel in the area of the eye, which is why he is forced to regularly bury medical drops in him) and mentally people, for one reason or another, torn out of normal life. Harrelson stands out from the top three slightly stronger, because he perfectly played the role of a soldier who was in the war, but never saw it (I will not explain what this means, during the viewing you will learn everything). In addition to them, I also liked the cameo of Steve Buscemi, as one of the furious fathers who could not calmly take the news of the death of his beloved son. Steve appears here for a short time, but his contribution to the mood of the movie managed to make.
"The Messenger" - a damn sad, heartbreaking story that I remember for being able to make you think. It is recommended for fans of a realistic approach to demonstrating life.
"The U.S. Command expresses its sincere condolences..."
The vast majority of pictures of war are stories about fighting at the front, about special operations being carried out behind enemy lines or about rescue missions inside their own homeland.
However, the “Messenger” tells about people who have suffered in one way or another from the war in Iraq and how hard they have to cope with it in peace.
Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), who received a combat wound in Iraq, receives a distribution in the alert unit. Here he must, under the leadership of Captain Stone (Woody Harrelson), inform the families of soldiers of the death of their relatives at the front. And only from the outside can it seem that this work is simple.
We invade their lives and break their hearts.
Each new family, appearing before the viewer and the main characters, becomes another piece in the mosaic of grief of the people. Whatever the motives of war, ordinary people will always suffer. Even those who were not on the front lines, those who did not lose loved ones.
One day, Will arrives at Olivia Peterson’s house. And something stops him before just quietly leaving after completing his assignment. He sees in her eyes the same pain and confusion he has been living with since returning from Iraq. And he, in spite of everything, decides to find out the story of this woman.
The Messenger reveals to the viewer the reverse side of the medal, which any government tries not to advertise. Life after the war is as it is.
Separately, I want to highlight the magnificent dialogues of the heroes, taking by the soul. You believe their feelings, you share their loss.
For peace after the war and for all that they did not hide
9 out of 10
Bulletin The bulletin is a more accurate description of what Sergeant Will Montgomery, after being wounded in Iraq, is doing. His duties are simply to bring a notification to his next of kin about the death of another soldier shot by a sniper or blown up by a mine in a remote desert country. The procedure is formalized as much as possible - condolences on behalf of the Minister of Defense and a brief cause of death. It is impossible to show feelings here - with a formal approach, the leadership believes, the incision of the soul will be less painful. Will is mentored by Captain Stone, for whom all notifications have long become routine. He saw war only from afar, and takes everything for granted. We have before us two views of war which, as action progresses, will collide and converge. A realistic view of a young soldier who has passed the baptism of battle and speculative speculations about the war of an old captain who is sure that “there is no family that would take care of you better than the US army.” Excellent acting, well-thought-out script help to penetrate deeply into the inner world of the characters, which makes "The Messenger" one of the most realistic American dramas of recent years. After watching, it’s nice to bring Ben Foster (Will) into your favorite actors: after roles in the fantastic action “Pandorum” and indie comedy “Birds of America”, this is such an unexpected demonstration of dramatic talent. 9 out of 10 Original
Sgt. William Montgomery has just three months to go. He is a good soldier, fought in Iraq and was awarded for merit, he is no exaggeration can be considered a hero, but the military has another mission for a sergeant. He should be the representative of the Secretary of the American Army. An envoy tasked with informing the families of soldiers killed in the war. He is transferred under the leadership of Captain Tony Stone, a career officer who never participates in real hostilities, but immediately referred to the junior in rank as a salad.
William has to learn from scratch this difficult work of the messenger of death. Before his eyes appears the invisible, rear side of the war, conducted somewhere far beyond the ocean. These are not bold, pathetic speeches of officials, but not clear clear rules of battle in the sun-scorched desert of Iraq. In this job, he encounters the real grief of ordinary little people who learn about the deaths of their loved ones from the stingy official speeches of the military. Anger, resentment, tears, tantrums, confusion - the true face of any war, which is calculated not by the number of victories, but by the number of zinc coffins.
In this, the “Messenger” is very close to domestic viewers, who like not us know what is a painful feeling of loss and sorrow for those who remained on the battlefield. Each family has grandfathers who fought in the Great Patriotic War or fathers in the Afghan wars, and there is Chechnya and today’s peacekeeping operations. By sending his children, husbands, wives, fathers and daughters to defend often obscure ideals, secretly every man hopes that “this cup will pass him” and the expectation of leading will not become the expectation of the dead.
The film also tells the story of Sergeant Montgomery. His inner world contradicts the views of Captain Stone, who believes that it is important, first of all, to observe the procedure, for him, the notification of people is only items in the reports, but William, who experienced the blind fire of war, believes otherwise. He has little miserly “accept my condolences”, he wants to somehow alleviate the fate of unhappy people. Partly because of this desire, and because William's personal life is empty and lonely, he enters into a relationship with one of the soldiers' widows. But will they be able to overcome the seemingly indestructible barrier between them - the ghost of her late husband?
Sometimes it seems that this is not a feature film, but a documentary production, so realistically written dialogue, so believably played by actors (bravo Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson, respectively, played the roles of Sergeant Montgomery and Captain Stone).
No one can remain indifferent after watching this film, which touches the soul and sobers the mind. Don't pass by.
