An extraordinary anti-war film that does not engage in polemics. The Messenger's extreme effectiveness is due to the brilliant acting of Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson.

| Jan 16, 2018

It is relentlessly bleak, even in its lighter moments. The downbeat tone is wearying. These days, we just need some hope.

| Original Score: 6.8/10 | Apr 12, 2016

[Foster and Harrelson's] interplay, on the job (ruining the day of one unfortunate person after the next) and off...provides the backbone of this erratically paced film.

| Oct 20, 2014

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 17, 2011

An intelligent and well-acted film which deserves its outing here.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 16, 2011

It's a film of quietly assured dramatic clout, a strong and sober reckoning with American conscience.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 16, 2011

Stumbles a little, loosening its grip in the bromantic final stretch. But if impenitent heartstring pluckage is what you're after, this is where it's at.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 16, 2011

The Oscar-nominated script pursues a grimly honourable task into its grim and not always honourable byways.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 15, 2011

[An] unpredictable, episodic, deeply resonant character piece.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 15, 2011

A worthy addition to the canon of Iraq war films, The Messenger has a gentle humanity that creeps under your skin.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 13, 2011

Shame nobody told writer-director Oren Moverman not to shoot The Messenger... before giving the script a good rewrite first.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 12, 2011

The film does lapse into cliche with Foster's descent into alcohol as a means of coping with the daily trauma of the job, but Israeli director Oren Moverman keeps the film rich in raw detail.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 10, 2010

The film is poised, unforced and powerful.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 5, 2010

The bombshell is the news of a soldier's death and the delivery of that message is the heart of this unsentimental, yet deeply moving, story.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 26, 2010

The film is premised on the verbal communication of urgent information, yet its many non-verbal moments provide the greatest strength and clarity.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 26, 2010

At its center lie three accomplished performances, by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, that are not to be missed.

Full Review | Dec 10, 2009

The beauty in Foster's portrayal is that it never completely explodes, but anger and aching seethe behind his eyes. Harrelson, meanwhile, is a good old boy with a bad old job.

| Original Score: A- | Nov 25, 2009

Whenever writer-director Oren Moverman moves past these scattered and admittedly voyeuristic moments into the lives of the two soldiers, the movie drifts into received wisdom and unconvincing romance.

| Nov 25, 2009

This film doesn't take political sides -- and it's all the more heartbreaking because of its restraint.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 24, 2009

This is a wholly different look at the fallout of the Iraq War and its effect on soldiers and civilians. It is also a gentle portrait of grief, friendship and solace.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 24, 2009