There are those whose job is to deliver news of the death of enlisted soldiers to their next of kin (NOK) - and I don't pity them.
In "The Messenger", war vet Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is suddenly assigned to perform such duty just a few months shy from completing his tour of duty. And he is under the direct stewardship of Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) who is morose and detached from any emotional ties. But try as he might, Will feels compelled to do more than what he is ordered to do. As a child, he was exposed to a drunk driver - his father! As an adult, he feels the need to reach out!
And little did I realize that part of this duty involves the procedural do's & don't's that hardly make sense: you cannot show emotion, you cannot touch the next-of-kin; no physical contact; no pats or condoling embraces; stuff that segregates humanity from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Ben Foster finally acquires gravitas. He was initially tentative but grew into the character of Will Montgomery. In this movie, Foster joins the big leagues of real actors. So does Woody Harrelson snagged a supporting actor nomination for his multi-layered Tony Stone. His moment comes after Will relates an anecdote of why he didn't deserve to be called a hero (a gritty account of how he escaped death while a comrade was blown to pieces).
Soundbites from Harrelson's character: "We had R&R with Filipino hookers - and we were on-call!" Ouch!
"I look best when I brood," Ben postures.
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