THE MESSENGER TELEGRAMS WHAT BUSH & CHENEY AVOIDED—AND OBAMA’S DILEMMA
Prior to the Iraq War, telegrams notified the next of kin (NOK) of deaths in war. Now, two uniformed soldiers of the Casualty Notification Service quickly contact a NOK as soon as the death has been confirmed because otherwise the press will be the first to report the fact. Shortly after The Messenger begins, recently wounded Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (played by Ben Foster) is assigned to such a two-person unit as the junior partner of Captain Tony Stone (played by Woody Harrelson). They make six notifications. The grief of the NOKs is something that Bush, Cheney, and Obama should experience to reflect on the consequences of their warmaking. Director Oren Moverman graphically portrays the effect on Montgomery, who yearns to date a surviving spouse, and Stone, who falls off the wagon. MH
PIRATE RADIO DEPICTS BRITAIN ALIVE WITH POP MUSIC IN 1966
In 1966, pop music flowered, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other artists from Britain. However, BBC refused to play the music because the government believed that those who heard the music were lowering standards, not just in music but also in coiffure and sex. Accordingly, chartered boats played the music of the day in international waters off the coast of Britain. The government responded by trying to find a way to shut down the radio, and then decided that the radio band on which they operated was a danger to public health because the waveband conflicted with an emergency waveband. In Pirate Radio, directed by Richard Curtis, that saga comes to the screen, focusing on one such ship and composites of DJ personalities. Pirate Radio mostly focuses on a coming-of-age portrayal of teenage Carl (played by Tom Sturridge) on board the ship. The film is a riotous comedy accompanied by music that was likely to have been played. The shutdown of the radio station is accomplished in an unexpected way, but the outcry over the persecution eventually prompted BBC to change its mind. MH
PRECIOUS FEATURES A REJECTED CHILD WHO MAKES GOOD
At the beginning of Precious (played by Gabourey Sidibe), the schoolchild Precious is booted from school because the authorities believe that her overweight condition is a sign that she is pregnant. She then goes to an alternative school, where the teacher asks students to verbalize, both out loud and in journals that will develop literary skills. Meanwhile, Precious’s dysfunctional home life is portrayed both at home and at the welfare office, where the authorities are able to make decisions that liberate Precious, who ultimately pursues a literary career. The film, directed by Lee Daniels, is based on the novel Push by Sapphire. MH
AMELIA PORTRAYS A PUBLICITY HOUND DYING IN OBSCURITY
Amelia Earhart died somewhere between New Guinea and Howland Island during 1937. The biopic Amelia, directed by Mira Nair, explains that she (played by Hilary Swank) has a passion to fly but no money to pursue that career until she runs into George Putnam (played by Richard Gere), a publicist who first makes her famous, marries her, and then derives revenue for her career from product endorsements. Although there are snippets of Amelia in such places as Africa that are not connected to a narrative of her career, the film finally focuses on her last days and tries to explain why she died—navigator Fred Noonan (played by Christopher Eccleston) was drunk, clouds covered the small island, and a signal malfunctioned from an American ship docked near the island because the operator left the device on all night, thereby depleting the battery. MH