BY MIKEY MIGO
I really missed the boat here. About two months ago, a friend of mine told me to cancel my movie watching plans and move this movie to the top of my to-do list. Oren Moverman makes his directorial debut in a grand fashion. This movie stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson. Foster plays a US solider returning home from injury. He is reassigned to join Harrelson as the Army’s Casualty Notification Service. They are basically on call at all times to go and notify people that their loved ones have died in service. They’re two misfits out of action doing one of the most emotionally strenuous jobs I could imagine. Harrelson tries to coach and guide Foster on the laws, the dos, and the don’ts of how to let people know. It’s a very sterile and “official” process that lacks any emotion. While I understand it’s supposed to be about respect and dignity, it also shows just how cold and mechanical the military is, even in terms of its own. The reactions from the actors portraying the familes is hard to watch. Some weep, some flip out, and some just don’t know how to take it. We see Steve Buscemi play a man who’s son was just killed. He is angry, tearful, and mean. It’s just all raw emotion and acting at it’s more pure. There may be anger, disbelief, confusion, or other emotions thrown at them but the consistent reaction is almost always tears. Then there is one woman, the awesome Samantha Morton, who finds out. She doesn’t cry, she doesn’t flip out, she just accepts it. Oddly, she feels for Woody and Ben for having to tell her. Foster then falls for her. I don’t know if “falls for her” is the right term. He takes an interest in her and kind of forces his way into her life. We come to see that Foster is having trouble adapting and we come to find out that Harrelson really never has. This is one of those independent dramas that put your emotions through the wringer. It’s a pretty damn amazing movie. A-
|
