In accordance with procedure, when two Marines arrive to make death notifications, they first stop at the office of Police Chief Jeff “Goob” Garver for an escort. This is now required for their protection, after several surviving family members have physically lashed out at similar messengers. They would not divulge the names involved, only their destination addresses. Of course, in a relatively tight knit community, it was not difficult to figure what was happening and who was affected.
Goldstar carefully avoids addressing any of the political issues surrounding the Iraq War (or Afghanistan for that matter). However, it indirectly refutes Oren Moverman’s defamatory The Messenger. Marines assigned to bereavement duty are always the most disciplined of the Corps, rather than the drunken basket-cases like Woody Harrelson’s character. Yet, the military never appear directly in Goldstar.
Drawn word-for-word from interviews conducted by Tisdale, Goldstar is about sudden grief and acute empathy. As wrenching as the family’ stories are, Garver’s monologue is perhaps more moving, because it reflects feelings that are truly humane. It also helps that Tony award winner Bill Irwin portrays Garver with finely wrought sensitivity and intensity, while also perfectly capturing the halting cadences of an interviewee. Indeed, Goldstar has a rather big name cast for a short film, including another Tony winner, Mercedes Ruehl, who is brings devastating gravitas as grieving mother Adriana Rock.
