The Messenger (2009)

"The Messenger" sets out to tell us about the difficult task faced by U.S. Army personnel assigned to the job of informing parents and spouses that their loved one has died. Sets out, but fails. Ben Foster (“3:10 to Yuma”) is Will Montgomery, a wounded veteran with three months remaining on his contract. He’s tasked, with as much training as I received writing press releases, into this notification duty under all-rules, no-hugs Capt. Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). When the two set out to inform families, this is a heartbreaking piece of cinema. Yet, miscalculated dramatics bring ruin. Will near stalks a new war widow because he … feels sorry for her? Is in love? Either way, it's bogus. Long stretches of scenes ring false. "Hurt Locker" had several scenes anti-logical to (what little I know of) military practice, but it excelled in its human truths. This doesn't. The acting is superb -- Foster owns the film, and Harrelson provides fine support -- yet there must be a better depiction out there that treats this vital task with the absolute seriousness in which it must be carried out. B-