Moverman's "The Messenger"

I've been away from blogging since last weekend - a very busy week and no really noteworthy LGBT legal developments - but more on that in a subsequent blog.

For now, I have to report on attending a matinee performance of a new independent film, Oren Moverman's "The Messenger."  Actually, Moverman (who - full disclosure - is my second cousin once removed - we are both descended from a Moverman who lived in the town of Kamenets-Podolsky in what is now the Ukraine in the late 19th century) is co-author of the screenplay and director of the film, and he jointly devised the plot with Alessandro Camon.  Interestingly, this very American tale was devised by an Israeli (Moverman) and an Italian (Camon).   The plot is simply told.  Sgt. Will Montgomery, a 20-something US Army member who was wounded in Iraq and has come back stateside to recuperate while his enlistment plays out, is assigned to a next-of-kin notification unit with Captain Tony Stone, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm (which went by so quickly that Stone saw no real action).  The movie is structured around their notification missions and the gradually forming relationship between the two men.  To say more would be to give away the plot.

What makes this film so fine is the sensitive acting and directing.  This is Moverman's first professional directing effort -- according to news features, he was invited to direct by the producer after an experienced director who had agreed to the project dropped out.  One would not know that from the finished product, which seems to have been deftly directed to elicit excellent performances from his leading actors, Ben Foster as Will and Woody Harrelson as Tony.  They interact beautifully, and fill the story with interesting personality development as they do so.  Samantha Morton, as a new widow who provides the "love interest" for Will, is less convincing to me in her role, but at least adequate, perhaps a bit more than that.  The pacing is excellent for the most part, although I did find a slightly slow patch about 2/3 of the way through the film.

But overall I found this quite engaging and gripping.  From the subject matter, one would expect it to be unremittingly grim, but it isn't.  It is fascinating, entertaining, sometimes even funny, and the performances by Foster and Harrelson are really special, worth seeking out.  Foster, in particular, is the mostly-quiet but compelling center of this story, and this is a real star-making performance for him if the right people see this.

This is an independent release, so it may not show up quite so widely as one would hope, but perhaps the laudatory reviews that have begun appearing (see New York Times and The New Yorker this week) and good attendance at the limited venues where it is starting will win it a broader release.  I can't wait to get it on DVD as well.  See it!