The Messenger is an emotionally intense movie. It shows the destruction of war extends far beyond the battlefield and hits the families at home. Staff Sergeant Will (Ben Foster) and Captain Tony (Woody Harrelson) team up as Casualty Notification Officers. Casualty Notifications Officers notify the next of kin on the death of their relative. When they hear the news, families are destroyed.
The first and second acts of the movie feel a little repetitive as they go from one family to the other and repeat the same generic script to each family. Each scenes is well-done and the acting is great. The dynamics between Will and Tony is also well-contrasted. Tony is a soldier who mechanically follows the procedure without getting his emotions involved in the case whereas his younger partner Will is new on the duty and displays emotions.
Overall, I thought this was a decent movie with great acting. The third/final act may leave you a little dissatisfied as it doesn't have a climax. The story is plain simple. Since there is no conflicts, there is no climax either. I think it may have worked better if there were a conflict between the two main characters which would be brought to a resolution. Or if there were flashbacks to what they experienced during the war, the actions scenes could add some depth to the story. But then again, this is a low-budget movie that draws its tone from acting alone.
The first and second acts of the movie feel a little repetitive as they go from one family to the other and repeat the same generic script to each family. Each scenes is well-done and the acting is great. The dynamics between Will and Tony is also well-contrasted. Tony is a soldier who mechanically follows the procedure without getting his emotions involved in the case whereas his younger partner Will is new on the duty and displays emotions.
Overall, I thought this was a decent movie with great acting. The third/final act may leave you a little dissatisfied as it doesn't have a climax. The story is plain simple. Since there is no conflicts, there is no climax either. I think it may have worked better if there were a conflict between the two main characters which would be brought to a resolution. Or if there were flashbacks to what they experienced during the war, the actions scenes could add some depth to the story. But then again, this is a low-budget movie that draws its tone from acting alone.