The Friend Movie Review

With all the questions posed to someone in life, the most important one just may come down to one. What happens to the dog? ​

When this question is presented, things aren’t usually good. It’s asked a lot in this movie and when it is, your stomach gets tied up in knots. Some of that has to do with the unnecessarily long running time with a repetitive storyline it could have avoided. Outside of that you’ll enjoy this, ever needed in this time of our lives, dog tale.

The star of this film is Bing who plays Apollo, a beautiful, harlequin Great Dane with a distinctive coat, loved by everyone who has ever met him. He’s well-trained and is a good boy, especially when cuddling with his favorite shirt. He knows how to melt hearts with just a look, and you never tire of seeing his graceful strut across the screen. But his master Walter (Murray) passes on by choice and it’s now up to Walter’s friend Iris (Watts) to care for him. Throughout the film, she can’t figure out why the burden was put on her. Apollo seems to sense that he is seen as a burden, so he makes sure she has every reason to feel that way.

She lives in a beautiful rent-controlled apartment that has been in her family for generations. Now, his presence is jeopardizing this situation because building management doesn’t make concessions for dogs, not even for a little while. As she looks for a permanent place for Apollo, she, as well as you, falls deeply for the exquisite creature. Directors David Siegel and Scott McGehee make sure you feel for Apollo, but that you also understand the position Iris is in, knowing how much her best friend loved the dog, entrusting her to love and care for him, but not wanting to lose everything she has to make sure Apollo is comfortable. Already behind on work, she must get back to life as it was. Apollo has taken over her apartment and insists on her spare time and attention. Her bed belongs to him, and she can’t wash the one thing he cuddles with… she wants to cuddle with it, too.

When she leaves the apartment, he’s alone, hunting for things to do, seemingly knowing what it means to no longer have his master, his friend, as Iris begins to see Apollo as the replacement for the man who wormed his way into her heart and must stay. She cries, using Apollo for warmth, asking such things as, what do dogs think when humans cry and do pets understand sadness? Voiceover is used for these questions, to dig deeply into how a pet feels. Apollo doesn’t move. Dogs become members of the family, after all. Sadly, they don’t live long, and you’re not prepared for them to leave when they do. But it’s pointed out that dogs don’t commit suicide. With an aching heart, do they fall to pieces? Do their hearts break? Do they lose their minds after a tragedy, and do they weep?  This movie asks these questions and at points you struggle with what could be the answer. Apollo doesn’t have a say in when his loved one leaves any more than we do.

Murray isn’t it many scenes, but when he does show up, he brings life to the moment. Apollo hits his queues and is a fabulous scene partner for Watts to play off. With this subject matter, the movie could have easily gotten sappy, yet it does not. We’re reminded that this is real, and we all go through it at one point or another. It’s warm but often painful with a cast that takes you along for their journey.