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Movie review: THE FRIEND (2024)
Dog movie is critic's best friend
THE FRIEND (2024) Written and Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel from the novel by Sigrid Nunez / Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens (1.85:1) / Designer: Kelly McGehee / Editor: Isaac Hagy / Composers: Trevor Gureckis & Jay Wadley / Animal Training: William Berloni / Cast: Naiomi Watts, Bill Murray, Carla Gugino, Sarah Pidgeon, Josh Pais, Ann Dowd, Noma Dumezweni, Felix Solis, Conatance Wu and Carrie Vu / Distributor: Bleecker Street / Rated: R / Length: 119 mins.
What will happen to the dog? The first question raised in Scott McGehee & David Siegel’s sublime ode to a pooch and his pet is repeated several times throughout the picture. Not only will I tell you what happens to the dog, I’ll do it upfront and without issuing a spoiler alert. No Marley and Me maudlinness here. Rejoice! Apollo (Bing) lives! The five-year-old, 150 lb. Great Dane that stars opposite Naomi Watts outlasts the running time! (Anyone who thinks news of a dog’s survival could somehow spoil a movie chuckles at the end of Old Yeller.) Bill Murray, on the other hand, barely makes it through the opening credits.
Video:
Trailer: THE FRIEND
Walter (Murray) must have been loved. Why else would his suicide occasion a reunion between all three of his wives (Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, and Noma Dumezweni), daughter Val (Sarah Pidgeon) and Iris (Watts), the student who turned out to be much more than a one-night-stand? Decidedly not a dog person, wife #3 Barbara (Dumezweni) informs Iris that she was Walter’s “contingency plan.” (When Barbara speaks, one hears the measured tones of every school librarian who ever scolded a student for breaking the golden silence.) How could Walter marry someone who wasn’t a dog person? (Look what happened to Melania.) Iris was the only one to whom he’d entrust his beloved Apollo.
What’s remarkable about The Friend? Apollo’s unremarkableness, for starters. Other than his size, nothing about the hound stands out. Nor is he a four-legged prop, subjected to funny costumes or inane reaction shots. (For Apollo's anthropomorphic opposite, check out Mr. Bascomb in Frank Tashlin's uproarious Hollywood or Bust.) Much of the time he bears the look of a bereaved dog coming to terms with the sudden loss of the center of his universe. (”How can you explain death to a dog?” Iris wonders.)
Not unlike Barbara, Iris has no feel for the beast. No sooner do they enter Iris's rent-controlled New York apartment than Apollo takes up permanent residence on her bed, unwilling to share the parts he doesn't occupy. (Yelling “Bad Dog!” at a Great Dane is tantamount to spitting pumpkin seeds at a battleship.) She never plays with the dog or gives him a good scratch. One night, he leaves the bed long enough to check out Iris’s sleeping bag accommodations. As he towers over her, Iris makes no effort to reach up and touch him. If anything, she looks on with fright.
Plot happens when Hektor (Felix Solis), the building superintendent, brings news from management: either Iris or the dog has got to go. Separating a pet from its mistress was not a clause in Hektor’s job description. It’s the one part of his work that stinks worse than trash day. Solis tops a superb ensemble cast: detailed attention is paid to all of the supporting characters, without a two-legged punchline or single-function plot-advancer in the pack. Not only does Apollo live, the writers were good enough to supply Iris with the one bit of closure that only movies can provide: the chance to confront Walter.
And fortunately for McGehee and Siegel (Suture, The Business of Strangers, Uncertainty), whatever minor details they miss out on can be found in Naomi Watts’ face. The psychic connection between master and pet has seldom been explored in such human (and humane) terms. (Harry and Tonto comes to mind.) I’ve seen The Friend three times — once on a big screen at the Angelika and twice at home with my friend Oreo. In each case, the tears started to flow at the same moment: a shot of Iris and Apollo, stretched out on the bed spooning, her leg slung across the sleeping giant. Closure at last. *****
Here's something you might be interested in.
Movie review: THE FRIEND (2024)
Dog movie is critic's best friend
Movie review: THE FRIEND (2024)
Dog movie is critic's best friend
THE FRIEND (2024) Written and Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel from the novel by Sigrid Nunez / Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens (1.85:1) / Designer: Kelly McGehee / Editor: Isaac Hagy / Composers: Trevor Gureckis & Jay Wadley / Animal Training: William Berloni / Cast: Naiomi Watts, Bill Murray, Carla Gugino, Sarah Pidgeon, Josh Pais, Ann Dowd, Noma Dumezweni, Felix Solis, Conatance Wu and Carrie Vu / Distributor: Bleecker Street / Rated: R / Length: 119 mins.
What will happen to the dog? The first question raised in Scott McGehee & David Siegel’s sublime ode to a pooch and his pet is repeated several times throughout the picture. Not only will I tell you what happens to the dog, I’ll do it upfront and without issuing a spoiler alert. No Marley and Me maudlinness here. Rejoice! Apollo (Bing) lives! The five-year-old, 150 lb. Great Dane that stars opposite Naomi Watts outlasts the running time! (Anyone who thinks news of a dog’s survival could somehow spoil a movie chuckles at the end of Old Yeller.) Bill Murray, on the other hand, barely makes it through the opening credits.
Video:
Trailer: THE FRIEND
Walter (Murray) must have been loved. Why else would his suicide occasion a reunion between all three of his wives (Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, and Noma Dumezweni), daughter Val (Sarah Pidgeon) and Iris (Watts), the student who turned out to be much more than a one-night-stand? Decidedly not a dog person, wife #3 Barbara (Dumezweni) informs Iris that she was Walter’s “contingency plan.” (When Barbara speaks, one hears the measured tones of every school librarian who ever scolded a student for breaking the golden silence.) How could Walter marry someone who wasn’t a dog person? (Look what happened to Melania.) Iris was the only one to whom he’d entrust his beloved Apollo.
What’s remarkable about The Friend? Apollo’s unremarkableness, for starters. Other than his size, nothing about the hound stands out. Nor is he a four-legged prop, subjected to funny costumes or inane reaction shots. (For Apollo's anthropomorphic opposite, check out Mr. Bascomb in Frank Tashlin's uproarious Hollywood or Bust.) Much of the time he bears the look of a bereaved dog coming to terms with the sudden loss of the center of his universe. (”How can you explain death to a dog?” Iris wonders.)
Not unlike Barbara, Iris has no feel for the beast. No sooner do they enter Iris's rent-controlled New York apartment than Apollo takes up permanent residence on her bed, unwilling to share the parts he doesn't occupy. (Yelling “Bad Dog!” at a Great Dane is tantamount to spitting pumpkin seeds at a battleship.) She never plays with the dog or gives him a good scratch. One night, he leaves the bed long enough to check out Iris’s sleeping bag accommodations. As he towers over her, Iris makes no effort to reach up and touch him. If anything, she looks on with fright.
Plot happens when Hektor (Felix Solis), the building superintendent, brings news from management: either Iris or the dog has got to go. Separating a pet from its mistress was not a clause in Hektor’s job description. It’s the one part of his work that stinks worse than trash day. Solis tops a superb ensemble cast: detailed attention is paid to all of the supporting characters, without a two-legged punchline or single-function plot-advancer in the pack. Not only does Apollo live, the writers were good enough to supply Iris with the one bit of closure that only movies can provide: the chance to confront Walter.
And fortunately for McGehee and Siegel (Suture, The Business of Strangers, Uncertainty), whatever minor details they miss out on can be found in Naomi Watts’ face. The psychic connection between master and pet has seldom been explored in such human (and humane) terms. (Harry and Tonto comes to mind.) I’ve seen The Friend three times — once on a big screen at the Angelika and twice at home with my friend Oreo. In each case, the tears started to flow at the same moment: a shot of Iris and Apollo, stretched out on the bed spooning, her leg slung across the sleeping giant. Closure at last. *****