THE MESSENGER: bringing the war back home to New Jersey

Give me a character driven story over an action adventure blockbuster any day.
I like films where the characters are the stars not the special effects or explosions. And I'm particularly partial to interesting characters in everyday situations dealing with whatever life (and the scriptwriter) has to throw at them.
Making the ordinary extraordinary trumps making the extraordinary even larger than life everytime.
Which is a roundabout way of saying I really enjoyed THE MESSENGER.
The film examines the consequences of the US involvement in Iraq through the eyes of two soldiers whose job it is to break the news to husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, that their loved one has been killed in action.

Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is three months away from leaving the Army when he's assigned to work with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), driving out to families in  suburban New Jersey to deliver the terrible news in person before they hear it from the media. It's not Will's dream job. He's had no training in grief counselling and he's not religious, but he's told that's not the point. He's given a script to learn and instructed that under no circumstances is he to offer consolation to the NoK (next of kin) by touching or hugging them.
Both Will and Tony are men's men, not given to expressing emotion in public or discussing their respective military experiences, although Will has clearly been through a lot. He's still recovering from wounds received in action in Iraq, and now lives a rather isolated existence in a sparsely furnished, impersonally decorated apartment off-base. Tony's given his life to the military and looks to have it altogether, but as the story unfolds it becomes obvious that both men have many problems in common.
Harrelson is the one who's been lauded with award nominations (including one for Best Supporting Actor Oscar) but it's relative unknown Foster who's at the heart of this drama. Initially reluctant to accept the assignment he finds himself unexpectedly affected by the distressing reactions of those to whom he delivers his life-changing message, and inexplicably drawn to one young widow (played by Samantha Morton) in particular.
Despite their outward show of bravado, neither man is who they appear to be and certainly not the kind of figures we've come to expect from cinematic portrayals of cynical, battlehardened vets.The refusal to play up to that stereotype is just one of the rewarding elements to this story.
Another is it's languid pace. First time director Oren Moverman has created an experience which refuses to be rushed yet never outstays it's welcome. The film feels longer than it's sub 2 hour running time but that's not a complaint. Between his direction, his Oscar nominated screenplay and the performances of Foster, Harrelson and Morton, I felt so immersed in their world I would happily have stayed living in it for another hour.
In reviewing Zombieland and 2012 for this blog I expressed my dislike of Woody Harrelson as an actor. That still stands but I have to admit he is good here. The understated way in which he plays Tony Stone makes him considerably less objectionable and I certainly wouldn't begrudge him the Oscar in the unlikely event that it's his name in the envelope.
THE MESSENGER has received just a fraction of the attention paid to The Hurt Locker but for my money it's the superior film.