In a very smart and original premise comes the story of a soldier (Ben Foster) assigned to work under the expert of casualty notification (Woody Harrelson). The two men go door to door to deliver the words that their loved one has died in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. Neither has ever known grief, neither has had counseling, but the job is about having character and delivery the message in a very cold and manual-memorized way. Think “Up in the Air” one step beyond…they haven’t lost their jobs, these people have lost their lives. These men (the messengers) are solid – they’re hero’s – and they know how to “stick to the script” which means only visiting the victim’s family in the morning and never, ever, having physical contact with them (even if they are falling to the floor in shock, in need of a simple hug.) And then one day their “script” doesn’t work. Human emotion sets in (anticipated from the first five minutes of the film) when they have to tell a young widow (Samantha Morton) that her husband has died. Foster suddenly finds himself in an ethical dilemma and Morton’s character exhibits emotions and thoughts (at a kitchen counter scene) that we can only imagine from a young soldier’s wife. Harrelson’s performance is Oscar worthy for Best Actor though overall, the good little film is rather shapeless. And depressing. Three tiaras
