''The Messenger'' is a 2015 British

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by David Blair, written by Andrew Kirk and starring

Robert Sheehan Robert Sheehan (born 7 January 1988) is an Irish actor. He is best known for television roles such as Nathan Young in ''Misfits (TV series), Misfits'', Darren Treacy in ''Love/Hate (TV series), Love/Hate'', and Number Four / The Séance (Klaus ...

and

Lily Cole Lily Luahana Cole (born 27 December 1987)"Autobiography"
, lilycole.com. is a B ...

Plot

After his father's death, a suicide by hanging, young Jack seemingly gains the ability to see and talk with souls who have not yet "gone into the light." As Jack grows older, these souls ask him to become their 'Messenger' and relay their final words to those still living. This usually ends badly; as more often than not Jack's words, though honest, cause more misery and result in him getting kicked out of funerals or beaten up. Jack states time and time again that he isn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart, but in an effort to get rid of the souls haunting him, which doesn't happen until the task is completed. It is shown through intermediate flashbacks that, as a child, Jack had been in and out of psychiatric clinics and hospitals all through adulthood, and as of the present, has been skimping on his prescribed medication. This, along the fact that he constantly drinks, has his current soul companion, a high-profile reporter by the name of Mark, worrying that his message to his recently widowed wife, Sarah, won't be genuinely received. Mark discloses that he was jumped on his way home by hooded figures and killed, staged to look like a suicide. He convinces Jack to reach out to his wife and tell her goodbye, while also revealing the fact that he knows about the baby growing inside her; this causes Sarah to become distressed, as the baby isn't Mark's. Jack, frustrated at how he's made the situation worse again, is taken into custody in response to Sarah's call to the police. Jack is taken to see a psychiatrist and is made to retell his story, eventually discovering that his father hadn't killed himself because of his mother, but that he was projecting his own bitterness and hatred for her. Seconds after he accepts help, Mark returns and insists that Jack help Sarah, who is attempting suicide by overdose. Jack initially refuses but relents when it becomes too much, eventually screaming hysterically for everyone to send help. He's sedated and taken away, though in the end, Jack's warnings stand true and the emergency response saved Sarah's life. Though the psychiatrist refutes the idea that his powers are real, saying that it's his mind trying to cope with his father's violent death, both the constable and Jack's sister, Emma, begin to believe in his powers. Afterwards Emma brings Jack a crystallized bug globe, a memento of their father, and Jack finally moves on from his father's death, crying and accepting help. During the story it is discovered that Jack's nephew, Billy, also sees lost souls, but has never told anyone. He discloses that he's haunted by the ghost of a boy who drowned in his family's swimming pool. The story ends with the reappearance of Billy and the ghost, while, at the same time, Emma, in the midst of cleaning Jack's apartment, finds a newspaper clipping detailing the death of a boy in her swimming pool.

Cast

as Jack *

Lily Cole Lily Luahana Cole (born 27 December 1987)"Autobiography"
, lilycole.com. is a B ...

as Emma *

Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is a British actress. She is notable for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series '' Nip/Tuck'' (2003–2010) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). Her credits in ...

as Psychiatrist *

Tamzin Merchant Tamzin Claire Merchant (born 4 March 1987) is a British actress, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2009–2010) and as Anne Hale in ...

as Sarah *

David O'Hara David Patrick O'Hara (born 9 July 1965) is a Scottish stage and character actor. A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, he is best known to audiences for his numerous supporting roles in high-profile films, includ ...

as DCI Keane *

Deirdre O'Kane use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , education ...

as Mum *

Andrew Tiernan Andrew James Tiernan (born 30 November 1965) is a British actor and director. Biography Theatre Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year diploma in acting at the Drama Centre Lo ...

as Father * Jack Fox as Mark *

Alex Wyndham Alex Wyndham (born 1 January 1981) is an English actor best known for his supporting roles as Gaius Maecenas on the second season of the HBO historical drama series ''Rome'' (2007) and Kevyn Tan on the first and second seasons of the Showtime ...

as Martin *

Ali Cook Ali Cook (also credited as Alistair Cook) is an English actor and comedian from Yorkshire. Cook played Sgt. Paul McMellon in the feature film ''Kajaki (film), Kajaki'', which won the ''Producer of The Year Award'' at the 2015 British Independen ...

as Geoff

Production

The film was shot in the United Kingdom, including the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

Release

''The Messenger''

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

d at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

on 20 June 2015.

Reception

David Clack in '' Time Out'' gave it one star (out of five), "The Messenger offers not a single fresh idea, nor the faintest glimmer of hope that something smart is around the corner". Steve Rose in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave it two stars out of five, "told in a slow, fragmented manner that becomes frustrating rather than mystifying".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messenger, The (2015 film) 2015 films 2015 horror films 2010s mystery thriller films 2015 thriller films British mystery thriller films Films shot in England British supernatural horror films British supernatural thriller films 2015 drama films Films directed by David Blair (director) 2010s English-language films 2010s British films English-language horror films English-language mystery thriller films