The Friend

Hollywood has a fascination with incorporating animals in their films and TV shows, i.e. "Lassie", "Marley and Me", "Old Yeller", "The Red Pony", "My Friend Flicka", "Dog", "Rin Tin Tin", and although there are a plethora of them, they never seem to get old with audiences. They typically profit, so in this day and age of finding profitable films, it's no wonder that "The Friend" has come along to continue that tradition. Hopefully as with the other films, this will also profit as well.

In this story, writer and teacher, Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closet friend and mentor, Walter (Bill Murray) commits suicide and bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb Great Dane. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo (Bing), immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones, his looming presence constantly reminding her of her friend's choice to take his own life. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding to the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.

Others to round out the past are Sarah Pidgeon as Val, Carla Gugino as Elaine, Constance Wu as Tuesday, Noma Dumezweni as Barbara, Ann Dowd as Marjorie, Owen Teague as Carter, Carrie Vu as Viv, Annie Fox as Jenna, Sue Jean Kim as Blossom and Gary Littman as Grant.

This was directed with a clear, concise delineation of drama and comedy by Scott McGehee and David Siegel ("Suture" '93, "The Deep End" '01, "Bee Season" '05, "Uncertainty" '08, "What Maisie Knew" '12, "Montana Story" '21) plus a short and a music video. The transformation that Watts had to endure was subtle yet incredibly moving, and this isn't just fine acting, but amazing directing as well. Their staging and pacing were second to none. It was equally well penned by writers Scott McGehee and David Siegel ("Suture" '93, "The Deep End" '01, "Uncertainty" '08, "Montana Story" '21) plus TV and a short, based on a novel by Sigrid Nunez. Obviously these filmmakers are both a directing and writing team which typically creates a unity that other films with different directors and writers don't have as much. The continuity is refreshingly fluid and certainly one can see why they stick together professionally. The only issue I could see with this film is that it took a while for the film to find itself and become the film that it was looking to be. Once it found itself, the story simply took off and was a gripping and captivating film. The more the story unfolds, the more we come to realize that, through taking care of this dog, Iris realizes more about the relationships that she had been confused about, so it became an epiphany in her life. 

This is an interesting film in that it speaks volumes about relationships and the confusion around them using this dog as the centerpiece in which those involved could find their answers to questions they didn't even know they had. The performance by Watts was amazing with the subtleties she brought to this role. If you're into 'dog' films, this is for those people for sure.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                      Rated: R                                        120mins.