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Movie
Poster for The Messenger

The Messenger

2009 · 113 min

A quiet, emotionally raw look at grief and damaged soldiers, with moments of tenderness and awkward humor amid the pain.

Tagline
The Scars of War Will Last Forever.
Overview
Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who has returned home from Iraq, is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Montgomery is partnered with Captain Tony Stone, to give notice to the families of fallen soldiers. The Sergeant is drawn to Olivia Pitterson, to whom he has delivered news of her husband’s death.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • grief
  • war
  • trauma
  • isolation
  • redemption
Places
  • suburbs
  • road trip
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour3
Realism9
Romance4
Tension6
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight9

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance, war
Directed by
Oren Moverman
Written by
Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
Starring
Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker, Samantha Morton, Steve Buscemi, Dale Soules, Stevie Ray Dallimore
Music
Nathan Larson
Cinematography
Bobby Bukowski
Runtime
113 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English, Spanish

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