Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2013

Don’t let them touch you and never hug them. They don’t need a new friend. Such is the advice offered by Army Capt. Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson in a personal best) to SSgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), his young new partner. Their job is to inform people that their son/daughter/spouse has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The news is met with denial, anger or anguish, and very occasionally by compassion. This empathetic, impressively acted film is filled with humanity, heartbreak and humor, and eschews melodrama. Not a shot fired, but one of the best war movies you’re likely to see.