June 8, 2010
New war movies
Actually, the title is a bit misleading.
I just finished watching The Messenger. I’d had a few people recommend it to me. More so, it was part of the Woody Harrelrson renaissance that seemed to be going on in the world of cinema. Flesh it out with a little bit of Jena Malone and Ben Foster, and we had ourselves a movie with potential. But the entire time I watched this movie from last year, all I could do was think of Hurt Locker. Part of me wants to call this the anti-Hurt Locker, but that seems like it would imply that it is the antithesis of a “Best Picture.” I by no means wish to imply that.
The Messanger continues the trend to tell war movies that stay away from the war. It neither condones nor condemns the war. But both movies do more than make several references to Improvised Explosive Devices, the movies tend to come from the same heart. This is a story of soldiers trying to figure out their lives. This is a story of a dirty job. This is a story in which the character building all happens in the quiet moments of vulnerability.
For starters, Harrelson seems to be attracting very notable cameos. Zombieland was easily one of the best I’ve seen lately for its comedic value. But for potential scene stealing it has to go to the performance by Steve Buscemi in this film. Absolutely superb.
The middle bits, at times, dragged on a bit. And not in a way that drew out the development of the tale for me. It was more of feeling that while all the scenes were necessary, some needed a bit better editing. But that’s about as nitpicky as I can personally be, as the beginning and end (goodness the end was fabulous) that it is hard to genuinely complain.
I’m a sucker for hard movies to watch, mind you. This is a very hard movie to watch. You are watching the lives of two Army men as they go about notifying the next of kin of the death of their son or daughter. So this movie is not for everyone, but I think that if you enjoyed the characters of from Hurt Locker, you’ll enjoy this film. The characters are just as likable (or unlikable) in a tale as equally complex. I wish I could get away from comparing the two, but it was bound to happen. The Illusionist and The Prestige had this problem, and so did The Truman Show and EdTV (yep, more Harrelson, I got nothing). It just so happens that both films were Oscar nomination worth. But as is the case with my previous example, one tends to be better remembered then the other.
I really don’t want to get into the details of the film, all of the noteworthy moments won’t translated well onto blog. I didn’t find there to be classic quotes, only classic silences.
It actually in a very simple way reminded me alot of Six Feet Under. And no, not just because of Ben Foster. It is a story about people that you’ve never met before coming into your lives at the time of a loved one’s death. In a film, all of the characters are strangers to us. It is rare to see such vulnerability in characters that are strangers to each other.
But it isn’t simply the characters of the soldiers, much like Hurt Locker it is the character of the war. A new kind of PTSD. Or atleast a variation. It’s partly about the characters doing what the feel like they want to do, partly them doing the only thing they know how to do. It is compelling, horrifying, and yet all to relate-able.
In the end? 3.5 out of 5. The middle really did kinda feel like the wheels fell off a bit. While the film certainly couldn’t have just been family visit after family visit, I just didn’t get so on board with some of the middle. But the end picks the slack back up, and overall makes for a great film.
The Movie Meeting Ground 