John wanted to walk out while Allen said he didn't
like 'buddy' films while I made the usual mistake of walking into a film with
much too high expectations.

Will Montgomery (played by Ben Foster) and Tony
Stone (played by Woody Harrelson) are the two soldiers who
go to strangers homes to tell them a loved one has been killed in war. They
offer the bare details and leave after, in many cases, being abused verbally and
physically. Tony has been at the job for awhile and, being the senior office, he
is breaking in Will who has just returned from a tour in Iraq with slight
injuries and 3 months left to serve.

The scenes, though brief, of them telling fathers,
mothers, spouses and children of deaths that have happened, in most cases, in
the past 24 hours, are heart wrenching in each and every  case. Unfortunately in
a film that lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes these are the only times you feel
involved with the characters on the screen.

Will is involved with two women and neither story
line adds anything to the picture while Tony gets involved with many women just
to show how opposite he is from Will. The latter is looking for a home and love
while the former wants neither being a career man and a not so ex-alcoholic.

The film I wanted,
expected, to see was how what the two men did changed and/or affected them and,
possibly, their relationship but I was not the writers, Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon, or the director, Mr. Moverman so it wasn't my picture but theirs.
Some of the editing was choppy as was some of the hand held camera.

Woody Harrelson, in my opinion a very underrated
actor, makes the character of Tony a real, believable person, using such props
as half chewed toothpicks and gum and a very expressive face.  Ben Foster is new
to me and really doesn't make much of an impression with his cliche ridden
character or his acting. Samantha Morton and  Jena Malone as the women in Will's
life do the best they can with the material handed them. I did not catch the
name of the actress playing a one night stand in Tony's arsenal of women stood
out enough for me to want to find out who she is.

This is a film that I would suggest you wait until
it comes on cable, or on DVD, as seeing it on the big screen doesn't add
anything and by the same token if you miss it you
aren't missing much except a strong performance by Harrelson.