The Messenger 2009

         While on a recent deployment to Iraq, US Army Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery is injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) goes off within close proximity to him.  He is back in the States recovering from the more serious of his injuries, including one to his eye and leg.  He has resumed a sexual relationship with his long time girlfriend Kelly despite the fact that she is now engaged to another man that Will knows.  With the few months Will has left in his enlistment, the army assigns him to the Casualty Notification Team in his area.  Not having a background in this type of work including counseling, psychology or grief management, he is unsure if he is well suited to this job?  He is partnered with a career soldier, Captain Tony Stone who teaches Will the precise protocol involved in this job.  Tony tells Will, who quickly learns by on the job experience, that this job has its own dangers.  As Will learns to adapt to the range of emotions of the next of kin, he is unprepared for the reactions of Olivia Pitterson.

     This is an intense but thoughtful drama about a wounded Iraq War veteran.  Will has been assigned the very difficult task of informing people of their loved ones' deaths.  It's a grim subject that certainly won't appeal to everyone.  Families with mature teens whose lives have been touched by war may find it very emotional but also rewarding.  It brings up some fascinating topics, including the ways that war changes people.  This movie doesn't shy away from the raw aspects of soldiers' lives.  There is strong language, fighting, heavy drinking, sex (including full-frontal nudity) and sex talk.  It offers a lot to talk and think about.  3* (This move is OK)

113 min, Drama directed and written by Oren Moverman and also written by Woody Harrelson with Ben Foster, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker, Woody Harrelson, Yaya DaCosta, Portia, Lisa Joyce, Steve Buscemi, Peter Francis James, Samantha Morton, Paul Diomede, Jahmir Duran-Abreau, Gaius Charles.
 
Note:  Imdb 7.1* out of 10* with 34,050 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 90% with 163 critic reviews 75% with 10,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 77 out of 100 with 32 critic reviews, 7.5 out of 10 with 56 user scores, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Eye for Film 4* out of 5*, Adam Micklethwaite, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, age 17+, 4* out of 5*, 1* positive role models, 2* violence, 4* sex, language, drinking, drugs & smoking.  

Special Note:  The scene where Will and Olivia speak to each other in her kitchen is eight minutes long and was shot in one take.  Co-writer and director Oren Moverman allowed actors and actresses to improvise in certain scenes.  The soldiers in the film wear a unit patch with a large "22" on it.  This is a fictional unit.  The actual 22nd Infantry Division was a "Phantom Division" that never actually existed.  It was created in World War II to fool German intelligence. The patch that was created is different from the one in the film.  Despite its critical acclaim and Oscar nominations, this movie didn't receive a theatrical release in the UK for nearly two years.