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Movies / In Theaters / The Messenger
The Messenger

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The Messenger (2009)

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Reviews Counted:67

Fresh:61

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.4/10

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: $353,303

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
[More]

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 critic A-Z)
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Intelligent, graceful, and touching filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
11/12/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media

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

...[The Messenger] highlights the gulf between those who have served in Iraq and nearly everyone else they deal with after returning home.

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
12/01/09
Sarah Boslaugh
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

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

The Messenger is a successful examination of the harsh realities of war that too often are put in the back of people's minds.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
11/13/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times

As the lonely, complex and friendly Stone, Harrelson evokes the experience of The Messenger as sturdily as a freshly pinned medal of valor.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/12/09
Chris Cabin
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com

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

A n intricate dual character study.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
10/08/09
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Another dark, gloomy drama about home life during wartime, this film features some seriously great performances and a theme that will resonate powerfully with thoughtful audiences.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/08/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The Messenger involves difficult subject matter, but it's not hard to watch. It's sad and sobering, but also humorous and touching at turns.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
11/30/09
Lisa Ann Cockrel
Lisa Ann Cockrel
Christianity Today

Foster and Harrelson have a winning camaraderie as they develop a bond of trust and friendship. Both performances are memorable and deserve year-end awards consideration.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum | comment Comment
11/26/09
Keith Cohen
Keith Cohen
Entertainment Spectrum

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Messenger manages to be both practical and patriotic in the same breath, zeroing in on one of the most painful aspects of wartime.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/26/09
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is a fully felt, morally alert, marvellously acted piece of work. Despite the grim subject, it’s a sweet-tempered movie, with moments of explosive humor -- an entertainment.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
11/09/09
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
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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

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As powerful and restrained a drama as you could wish for...a film of both great sadness and great redemption.

Full Review Source: Hollywood & Fine | comment Comment
11/10/09
Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine
Hollywood & Fine

The miracle of this film is in its insistence on finding a way back home -- to fragile new beginnings giving way to new friendship, perhaps even new love.

Full Review Source: Indie Movies Online | comment Comment
12/04/09
Kimberly Gadette
Kimberly Gadette
Indie Movies Online

A story that strays about without finding its center.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
11/11/09
David Germain
David Germain
Associated Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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