Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Writer: Scott McGehee, David Siegel, Sigrid Nunez
Stars: Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Constance Wu
Synopsis: Follows a story of love, friendship, grief and healing, about a writer who adopts a Great Dane that belonged to a late friend and mentor.
A film set in New York City during the holiday season. All the typical iconography is there: Jane’s Carousel in Dumbo to the beautiful block of brownstones opposite Washington Square Park. Iris (Naomi Watts) is a writer living in one of said apartments. What’s crucial about this apartment is that it’s rent-controlled. With such a slice of heaven in the West Village, any New Yorker knows that under these circumstances, you’ll want to be buried in that apartment. There’s no leaving such a gift! But in comes Apollo (Bing), the mountainous Great Dane that acts as the primary supporting character of the film. In classic comedy fashion, Iris finds herself taking care of this beast of a dog. His previous owner was Walter (Bill Murray), Iris’ writing mentor, best friend, and much more, who suddenly and unexpectedly took his own life. Anybody can attest that dealing with grief is a massive burden in and of itself. It obviously takes a toll mentally, physically, and emotionally. Rest assured, this film isn’t as dour as the inciting incident might have you believe. As much of a drama as this film is, it relies heavily on its comedic spin. Because as Iris deals with her grief, she must also learn the common struggles of owning a dog in the city. For a place known for its lack of space, a 145-pound Great Dane certainly presents more than its fair share of challenges. If you’re wondering, this isn’t the basic set-up of something you’d see when flipping through channels and settling onto the Hallmark channel. Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, this is The Friend, playing in the Spotlight section of the 62nd New York Film Festival. It’s a film we’ve seen before in countless iterations. Despite that, its ability to often charm and occasionally surprise sustains itself through its runtime.
There’s much apprehension on Iris’ part when taking in Apollo. She has plenty of reasons to back this up as well. For one thing, she’s not much of a dog person in the first place. Secondly, her apartment building doesn’t allow pets. It’s a common trait for a New York apartment and while many tenants simply do it anyways, this is a rent-controlled West Village apartment. Is it worth the risk? In the end, she does it for a simple reason: it keeps her close to the memory of Walter. It’s also the product of a guilt-trip by Barbara (Noma Dumezweni), Walter’s current wife. She is one of three of his official spouses in the film. That should give off some sort of idea as to what type of character Murray plays. He’s not in it much, but his presence is constantly felt throughout the film. His life and past actions serve as both a boon and a curse on the people who surrounded him. It’s the first of many ideas and character traits present in The Friend that separate this from its Hallmark counterparts. Whereas films like those are much more glossy and smooth, The Friend is unafraid to delve into murkier waters. Some of these explorations may not always turn up treasure. But it’s the riskier venture that makes this film far more interesting than one which merely plays it safe for 90 minutes. Time and time again, The Friend pulls quite the trick on its viewer. Just when the audience thinks they have it all figured out, McGehee and Siegel throw a curveball that’s enough to hold your interest a bit longer.
When Barbara is trying to offload Apollo onto Iris, she brings up a question which feels like the most fascinating element present in this film. The Friend basically structures itself around two central ideas. The first is fairly obvious: grief. When discussing how Apollo has been noticeably depressed at the absence of his beloved Walter, Barbara poses the question: “How do you explain death to a dog?” And it’s in this simple notion to ease the pain of an emotionally hurt animal that the complexity of The Friend reveals itself. If anything is made apparent by the endearing, sad, and wildly impressive performance Bing turns in as Apollo, it’s that we don’t need to explain death to a dog. Animals are far smarter than humans like to give them credit. It would appear that Apollo has an innate understanding of what’s happening, yet, like many humans, simply cannot cope with processing it. The real question should instead be, “How can death be explained to humans?” We understand the literal process of death. But in the steps of processing loss and grieving those who have passed away, it’s a process that is fundamentally intangible. There’s no guidebook that can be followed to a tee. Grief takes on a multitude of forms. In The Friend, Apollo could even be seen as a physical manifestation of grief.
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A common metaphor used for grief is likening it to a mountain. If Apollo’s presence could be described as anything in this tiny apartment, mountainous feels apt. He takes over Iris’ bed, forcing her to sleep on the floor. He tears her files and personal belongings apart. He refuses to eat or drink water. All Apollo can do for extended periods of time in the beginning of the film is lay with one of Walter’s old shirts. Grief can be all-consuming. It might feel like it’s hovering over our shoulder on a day-to-day basis. It’s something we sleep with. Throughout The Friend, where the emotional depths of its characters may sometimes fall a bit flat, its introspective nature about coping propels it into each new act. Coupled with the comedy and charm of Apollo’s antics, The Friend works when it injects its own observations and emotional stakes onto the tropes audiences are already familiar with. Yes, it’s a film we’ve seen countless times before. But what it aims to achieve in spite of that knowledge is where it’s most interesting. After all, this is very much a film about regular people going through very common occurrences. It’s a notion that Iris actually addresses outright at one point. And it’s the second idea around which McGehee and Siegel structure their film.
When she’s not writing, Iris is the professor of a writing class. The group of students are often seen conducting exercises amongst one another. The most common? Peer criticism. A student who primarily deals in fantasy writing (Owen Teague) criticizes a fellow student for writing about the ordinary. He questions the point of “writing about somebody regular.” In other words, isn’t life boring enough as it is? But these stories matter! And The Friend is very much an example of that type of story. Through films like The Friend, which don’t rely on a high-concept, audiences are reminded of the often simple nature of life. We go through experiences that may make us feel isolated. But here is a simple reminder that things like this happen all the time, to people all over the world. There’s a version of The Friend that is incredibly boring and borders on trite. And while the cathartic climax of this film may fall a bit flat, McGehee and Siegel carry The Friend in subversive, interesting ways right up until the credits roll. It’s the type of charming film that can be recommended to virtually anybody, and that’s always a beautiful discovery in the ever-expanding world of cinema.
The Friend played in the Spotlight section of the 62nd New York Film Festival.
