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Movies / Upcoming / The Messenger
The Messenger

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The Messenger (2009)

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Reviews Counted:50

Fresh:45

Rotten:5

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: A dark but timely subject is handled deftly by writer/directer Owen Moverman and superbly acted by Woody Harrleson and Ben Foster.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some sexual content/nudity

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 13, 2009 Limited

Box Office: $44,523

Synopsis: Co-written by Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon, THE MESSENGER is a powerful and tender story about a returned war hero making his first steps toward a normal life. In his first leading role,... Co-written by Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon, THE MESSENGER is a powerful and tender story about a returned war hero making his first steps toward a normal life.

In his first leading role, Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband's death, Will’s emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival.

Featuring tour-de-force performances from Foster, Harrelson and Morton, and a brilliant directorial debut by Moverman, THE MESSENGER brings us into the inner lives of these outwardly steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity. --© Oscilloscope
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Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone

Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker, Steve Buscemi

Director: Oren Moverman

Director: Oren Moverman
Screenwriter: Oren Moverman, Alessandro Camon
Producer: Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee, Zach Miller
Composer: Nathan Larson
Studio: Oscilloscope Pictures

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Reviews for The Messenger

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Foster leaves you hoping that Will finds his way home.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/20/09
Betsy Sharkey
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It brings home the horror of the Iraq war in a way that much of our TV news media have failed to do.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
11/20/09
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

One of the rare movies that communicates honestly and artfully about the real casualties of war: the surviving combatants.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
11/20/09
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

A stunning debut, an effective, expertly-made and performed drama about the common human ability to deal with tragedy and loss in unique, unpredictable ways.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment Comment
11/20/09
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

Don't call it a comeback because Woody Harrelson never went away! This film that will remind everyone how good of an actor he is.

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
11/20/09
Willie Waffle
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

Some jobs are dirtier than others, and after seeing director and co-writer Oren Moverman’s beautifully acted new film The Messenger, you’ll be better acquainted with some of the most grueling work a human being can be called upon to perform.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/20/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Messenger is a privileged glimpse into people's private pain, a drama shot with the simplicity and immediacy of a documentary.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/19/09
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
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This is a poignant war movie, but it's also a buddy movie with a difference, one that's both funny and bleak.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/19/09
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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The scenes are rendered by director Oren Moverman with an authenticity and realism that makes them as harrowing and heartrending as they deserve to be.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
11/19/09
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

One of the most powerful and moving films about the human cost of the Afghan-Iraq war and about those of war in general to appear in years.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
11/19/09
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Director Oren Moverman’s feature-length debut is a little like The Hurt Locker in the way it uncomfortably probes a little-known military organelle.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
11/19/09
Shaula Clark
Shaula Clark
Boston Phoenix

The Messenger knows that even if it tells a tearjerking story, it doesn't have to be a tearjerker. In fact, when a sad story tries too hard, it can be fatal.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/19/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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A universally relatable drama instead of just another story about Iraq.

Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | comment Comment
11/18/09
Tricia Olszewski
Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper

This character piece may be for the arthouse, but the artistry has a gaping wound, large enough to allow credulity to seep out.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/17/09
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Poignant and insightful.

Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate | comment Comment
11/16/09
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate

I’m not sure how Morton made sense of her character’s ebbs and flows, but I never doubted her. She’s a mariner in uncharted seas of emotion.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
11/16/09
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
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A shoddy, shouty bore. A piece of flummery.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/15/09
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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A fine bookend to Katheryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, showing another side of how the war at home can be just as rigorous as the one abroad.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
11/14/09
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

Moverman understands the deep, powerful struggle that must accompany such constant grappling with death.

Full Review Source: Film School Rejects | comment Comment
11/13/09
Robert Levin
Robert Levin
Film School Rejects

A somber drama about intimate wartime tragedies, Oren Moverman's debut feels more respectful than real.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
11/13/09
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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