http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tTIQ8pkGf0

This is a very interesting film. It is about a soldier whose job is to report the deaths of other soldiers to their familes. It is a very slow paced drama, the director doesn't do many close ups or change angles very often. He likes to let the scene unfold, which for some can seem very tedious and drawn out. I think it worked really well though and it showed off the great acting by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, and Samantha Morton. The camera lingers on the drama and doesn't cut away very often. The only downside to this film is how it doesn't seem ot know what to do with it's own plot for a while. It establishes the characters well enough and shows us how these 2 soldiers have to seperate thenselves from their emotions to do their job. Harrelson, and Foster have great chemistry in this film, but the real stand out performance is also the smallest one. Steve Buscemi plays a father who loses his son the war. He only has 2 scenes, but his performance is fantastic.

The film seems to establish a relationship between Ben Foster, and Samantha Morton, but it restrains from showing much. That is the point though, these are 2 people who have had to deal with many emotional issues in their lives and they find friendship and a connection because of the death of her husband. The film gets sidetracked though by Harrelson taking them to a cabin with 2 girls, and going to a friend's wedding. These scenes are not bad and they work well, but it almost feels like the film is wandering from the storyline it established before but in the end it all relates back to the humanity of the plot. The seemingly random side plots are there to establish these characters and their flaws. They add greatly to the personalities of these people. They could have been done better in terms of scene transition, but they do their job. It's great to watch Harrelson, and Foster, but I was left wishing they had more scenes with Samantha Morton. That way the end of the film would feel more emotional. I can see the choice the director made to show the 2 main characters presenting news of death to other families rather than focus on Morton's grief. That was when it comes back to her you can see the difference between Ben Foster's character being emotionally distant toward the others he gives news to and how she helps him show more feeling toward people. If you don't mind a slow character based drama I recommend this film. It is great to see Woody Harrelson back on the big screen more. This is one of his best roles.

Overall I give it a 9 out of 10.