The Messenger and the Hidden Costs of War

The Messenger and the Hidden Costs of War

The Messenger and the Hidden Costs of War

Many Americans don’t need a movie to appreciate the human toll that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have exacted on communities in this country. For those who do, there is Oren Moverman’s The Messenger.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Many Americans don’t need a movie to appreciate the human toll that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have exacted on communities in this country. For those who do, there is The Messenger, Oren Moverman’s haunting new film about a captain and a young staff sergeant working the army’s "bereavement notification" beat, which requires them to go around the area near Fort Dix, NJ, knocking on the doors of relatives and spouses to inform them that one of their loved ones has been killed.

The movie isn’t quite as artful as some bedazzled critics have made it out to be. Some of the dialogue is stilted; a couple of scenes seem overly scripted or forced. Still, in the course of two tightly compressed hours, The Messenger manages to offer something so much of the news coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has not: a glimpse into the shattered lives of the bereaved. We watch people’s faces compress into grief as they realize their worst fear has come to pass. We hear them wail uncontrollably or sputter in rage. Although there is no gory war footage in the movie, the emotional weather hovers between uncomfortable and unbearable, as viewers take in the small scenes of devastation that have unfolded in countless living rooms and vestibules in recent years, yet remained largely hidden from view. The Messenger’s director, Oren Moverman, is Israeli, and I wondered after seeing it whether part of what drew him to this subject was the creepiness of being in a country ‘at war’ where so many citizens are completely insulated from its costs, something that wouldn’t be possible if America, like Israel, had a draft.

The backdrop to The Messenger is, tellingly and predictably, Iraq: the bad, pointless, unwinnable war. Yet its timeliness owes to Afghanistan, where, on Friday, two more American servicemen were killed, meaning two more unwelcome visits paid by bereavement notification officers to parents or spouses somewhere. In the latest issue of the New York Review of Books, there is a short, poignant piece on Afghanistan by Garry Wills, who notes that one thousand soldiers were wounded there in the last three months alone. These soldiers are the lucky ones, not killed but merely injured, a travail conveyed with great force in The Messenger through the character of Will Montgomery, a staff sergeant who returns from Iraq a "hero," but with a severely damaged eye and badly fractured psyche that has him looking for ways to numb himself and escape.

Escalating the war in Afghanistan will vastly expand the ranks of soldiers consigned to this fate, which is why Garry Wills hopes Obama will end it, even if this deprives him of the opportunity to serve a second term. "I have great hopes for the Obama presidency… especially if he could have two terms," writes Wills. But, "If [pulling out] costs him his presidency, what other achievement can match it?… Presidents who just kick the can down the road are easy to come by. Lost lives and limbs are not."

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers


Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

The Nation has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today.

We’re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x