‘The Friend’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters exclusively in New York on March 28th, before opening nationwide on April 4th is ‘The Friend,’ directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, and starring Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Sara Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Noma Dumezweni, Ann Dowd, Felix Solis, and Bing as Apollo.
Related Article: Bill Murray and Naomi Watts Talk ‘The Friend’ and Acting with a Dog
Initial Thoughts
Based on a 2018 novel by Sigrid Nunez, ‘The Friend’ is a relative rarity in today’s Hollywood landscape: an adult comedy-drama about subjects like love, loneliness, relationships, grief, and loss. Reminiscent in some ways of several Woody Allen’s better efforts in this field, this adaptation by writers-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel (‘What Maisie Knew’) is funny, moving, bittersweet, and completely absorbing, with a strong cast headed by an excellent Naomi Watts and Bill Murray.
It’s also a story about the wonder and mystery of the way in which humans and animals can bond, bolstered by a fantastic performance from a Great Dane named Bing. If there was an Oscar for “best performance by an animal,” this majestic animal would win hands down. He steals the show and will steal the viewer’s heart as well, making ‘The Friend’ one of the better movies we’ve seen about a person and their animal companion in a long time.
Story and Direction
After a brief opening scene at a very Allen-esque dinner party presided over by famed novelist Walter (Bill Murray), ‘The Friend’ flashes forward sometime later to Walter’s memorial service. It appears he has taken his own life, leaving behind two ex-wives (and a current one), a daughter he’s only recently reconnected with, several friends and former lovers, and a large Great Dane named Apollo (Bing), who he found while jogging under the Brooklyn Bridge one day and took home. But his third wife, Barbara (Noma Dumezweni), doesn’t want the dog, and as it turns out, Walter has bequeathed the canine – much to her shock and surprise — to his dear friend and former student, Iris (Naomi Watts).
Iris, a writer and teacher herself, lives alone in a tiny, rent-controlled Manhattan apartment, but sheltering a large dog like Apollo is a problem for her in more ways than one: the building doesn’t allow dogs, as the super (Felix Solis) constantly reminds her, and she could be in danger of losing her place if she doesn’t find a home for him. But even as Iris desperately tries to find a new home for Apollo, while also grappling with the aftermath of Walter’s death and the task of co-editing with his daughter (Sarah Pidgeon) a book of his voluminous correspondence, something strange begins to happen: she and Apollo, both heartbroken over losing their friend, start to form a bond – even if he initially wreaks havoc in her apartment, takes over her bed, and refuses to eat his food.
‘The Friend’ is about what it’s like to lose someone you love unexpectedly, and how you reconcile your feelings about that person with the truths you come to know about them. Walter is a difficult man and a serial womanizer, yet everyone in his orbit is in one way or another deeply affected by the gravity of his passing. Iris wrestles with the loss of her deep friendship with Walter, her annoyance with his flaws (in particular, his tendency to sleep with his female students), and the status of her own life, all of which become somehow crystallized in her developing relationship with the somber Apollo.
It’s a poignant but also funny tale, set in a community of academics and writers who take the craft of writing and its role in their lives seriously (which feels like a throwback in our current social media-besotted era). The movie is also a love letter to New York City, which McGehee, Siegel, and cinematographer Giles Nuttgens shoot fabulously: the many Manhattan locations are filmed in crisp, bright fashion, while places like Iris’s building and her apartment have a ring of realism that doesn’t always manifest in NYC-set movies. For anyone who has dealt with finding or keeping an apartment in the Big Apple, that aspect of ‘The Friend’ reverberates.
Most importantly, we come to care deeply for Iris, Apollo, and their shared grief and dilemma, while appreciating the presence of the many characters who are part of Iris’s life. The film’s only real stumble is in its final stretch: perhaps in a nod to the book – which is written as an imaginary conversation between the Iris and Walter characters (who are unnamed) – Iris has a sort of fantasy sequence in which her unspoken conflicts and feelings come to the fore. It’s stagey and artificial after the otherwise everyday texture of the rest of the film. And then there’s one final scene that feels shamelessly manipulative.
Cast and Performances
Naomi Watts, in some ways underrated these days, delivers a marvelous, stirring performance here as Iris. Pulled in several different directions, she provides a clear-eyed portrait of a woman who is holding things together even as she struggles with conflicting goals and priorities. Her natural warmth and humor shine through, particularly in her interactions with Bill Murray. Although only onscreen for a limited time, Murray is in relatively sober form here, while still infusing Walter with the wit, charisma, and huge personality that makes it easy to appreciate why so many people stay in his orbit.
The rest of the cast is filled out in excellent fashion, with Constance Wu, Noma Dumezweni, and Carla Gugino sharply defined as Walter’s three wives (it’s always nice to see Gugino in something outside a horror or action thriller) and Felix Solis affecting as Hektor, the guilt-ridden yet compassionate super in Iris’s building. But the VIP of the movie – next to Watts and Murray – is undoubtedly Bing, the dog who plays Apollo. With his big body and incredibly expressive eyes, Bing magically tells us everything we need to know about Apollo; and while many things about animals are truly unknowable, his initially painful grief and gradual affection for Iris are palpable and poignant.
Final Thoughts
Except for that wobbly ending, ‘The Friend’ is a profound, compassionate look at how we navigate change and loss in our lives as we get older. Scott McGehee and David Siegel have taken literary material that may not necessarily be easy to adapt and brought it to the screen in captivating fashion. And we dare anyone not to be moved by the relationship between Iris and Apollo, especially with the latter’s emotional life just as involving and complex as the actor starring opposite him. Keep your friends close, the story seems to say, but perhaps keep your animal friends even closer.
Pym2o81OGDRvbB4kTca5c3What is the plot of ‘The Friend’?
Iris (Naomi Watts) has had a long, complex friendship with Walter (Bill Murray). Walter is an irresistible charmer, a brilliant author, a lover of many women, and a master at letting down loved ones. When he dies suddenly, Iris is left to deal with all he left behind — three ex-wives (Carla Gugino, Constance Wu and Noma Dumezweni) with unfinished business, his interrupted literary legacy, and his beloved beast Apollo (Bing). It’s not that Iris doesn’t like dogs, but this is Manhattan, and she’ll get kicked out of her building if they find out she’s pretty much trying to house a horse.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Friend’?
- Naomi Watts as Iris
- Bill Murray as Walter
- Sarah Pidgeon as Val
- Constance Wu as Tuesday
- Ann Dowd as Marjorie
- Noma Dumezweni as Barbara
- Felix Solis as Hektor
- Owen Teague as Carter
- Carla Gugino as Elaine
- Gina Costigan as Jocelyn
- Josh Pais as Jerry
List of Scott McGehee and David Siegel Movies:
- ‘Suture‘ (1994)
- ‘The Deep End of the Ocean‘ (1999)
- ‘Bee Season‘ (2005)
- ‘Uncertainty‘ (2009)
- ‘What Maisie Knew‘ (2013)
- ‘Montana Story‘ (2022)
- ‘The Friend‘ (2025)
