We don’t see much of the womanizing writer Walter (Bill Murray) in the The Friend, but it doesn’t take long to see how selfish he was before his death by suicide. He leaves behind unfinished projects, a wife and two ex-wives, a neglected adult daughter and the deep, longtime friendship with his editor Iris (Naomi Watts). He was seemingly indifferent to suicide’s impact on the people in his life, but he has saddled Iris with the care of his surviving pet dog, Apollo. Apollo, while sweet-tempered, is an enormous Great Dane, and Iris’ apartment building does not allow dogs.
For all their qualities, Great Danes are not easy to care for, especially in Manhattan, and Iris must hustle to find a placement for Apollo while she is scrambling to save her final project with Walter and profoundly grieving. Iris is really angry at Walter, but the Apollo situation is so consuming that expressing that anger doesn’t occur to her. Will Iris be able to navigate her grief? Will she be able to keep her apartment? And what will happen to Apollo?
Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel make very few films, but they’re superb (The Deep End, Montana Story); The Friend is one of their lesser works, but it’s well-crafted and satisfying. They are able to keep the material sentimental, but not overly sentimental. This is a weeper, and The Wife and her friend liked it more than I did.
The soundtrack elevates the other elements of the film, especially a cover of Fred Neil’s Everybody’s Talkin’ by Iggy Pop.
Apollo is a dog of uncommonly sensitive eyes, who can express a wide range of emotions with a still gaze. He is played by Bing, also a Great Dane.
The Friend was the opening night film at this year’s Cinequest, but I missed it there. It’s now streaming on Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.