The Friend Review
A heartwarming tale of friendship, love and grief, anchored by a wonderful performance from Naomi Watts and an even better performance by her lanky canine friend!
When her mentor and friend Walter (Bill Murray) dies, Iris (Naomi Watts) is left with his dog - a complete surprise to her. Now, Iris must not only work out how to take care of the massive Great Dane, but also find a way to deal with the dog’s tremendous grief over the loss of its owner; even as she finds a way to deal with her own.
The Friend is a wonderfully charming, melancholic piece that is anchored by two wonderful performances. The fact that one of those performances is by a canine is nearly beside the point - you’ll laugh and cry as if it were two of the greatest thesps of a generation opposite one another.
Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel tackle grief in a way that loafs towards a conclusion, rather than hurrying toward one. There is a fair amount of understandable frustration with building committees and apartment owners, and a fairly noticeable lack of Bill Murray throughout the majority of the film (although his presence always lingers - a promise of laughs to come). Nevertheless, the thing that shines through is the overwhelming sadness of grief, and the way it can bog you down.
Watts is charming, and immeasurably watchable, as Iris, who straddles the line of being a razor sharp author and academic, but also hopelessly incapable of controlling a canine. Few of the supporting cast really make a dent in the film, although none detracts, and the movie really becomes a two-hander between Iris and the dog - with an occasional flurry of Murray.
Ultimately, The Friend is the sort of movie that you will absolutely love if you are in the mood for this type of content. Think a longing to live in NYC, a strong chance that you’ll search rescue Great Danes when you get home, and an undeniable warmth and appreciation for the connections you hold in your own life, before they are taken.