Fragile war veteran finds hope

Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery plays only hard rock and heavy metal on the stereo or radio. Doesn't talk much. Doesn't smile much. Looks like he's about to explode, like one of those roadside bombs in Iraq with a hair trigger.

In “The Messenger,” Will (Ben Foster) has returned stateside from being wounded in Iraq only to have a different kind of intense duty thrust upon him for the last three months of his hitch. Paired with a by-the-book captain (Woody Harrelson), he must walk up to the doors of strangers, knock, and wait for them to answer so he can tell them their loved one has been killed in action.

It's not the ideal assignment for someone trying to stay bottled up.

To make matters worse, his childhood sweetheart, Kelly (Jena Malone, “Stepmom”), has taken up with someone new while he was overseas. But she's not quite done messing with him yet.

First-time director Oren Moverman, who co-wrote the script, has created a movie about the residual effects of war and grief on the lives of soldiers and their families. It's an impressive debut. In focusing on the emotional journey of one man, he offers a template of hope for rebuilding shattered lives.

This isn't a movie that leaves you in a black hole.

But it does give you glimpses. Five times you'll see the worst news delivered. Will never knows what the person on the receiving end is going to do.

Maybe that's why his partner, Capt. Tony Stone, is by the book. You have to be direct — say killed, not gone to the other side — so there's no misunderstanding. No touching the NOK (that's next of kin). No waiting around. Just stick to the script and get your facts straight.

Foster (“3:10 to Yuma”) underplays in a standout performance as Will, a head case struggling to not come off as one.

Peeking out from behind a wall of anger and cool distance, though, are warmth and decency as you see him begin to connect with Olivia (Samantha Morton), one of the newly made widows who's heard him deliver his script.

Harrelson matches Foster scene for scene as breezy Tony, who handles the emotional baggage of this lousy assignment differently from Will but is clearly struggling, too. Gradually an unlikely friendship forms.

The movie's standout scenes strip the characters bare emotionally: when a father (Steve Buscemi, “Fargo”) gets horrible news; when Will and Tony crash an engagement party for Kelly; when Olivia tells Will about her dead husband; when Ben describes to Tony the firefight that got him a Purple Heart, a hero label and a long hospital stay.

But Moverman gets the quiet moments of everyday life that define these characters just as right as they all push past inner turmoil to find a way forward.

Look for Moverman, Foster, Harrelson, Morton and Buscemi to be in the mix of names tossed around at Oscar nomination time.

Contact the writer:

444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com

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