The Friend

The Friend

2025, 120 min., R

Written and Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel.

Based on the Novel by Sigrid Nunez.

Cast: Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Sarah Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Ann Dowd.

*** out of ****

“The Friend” is one of those films that deals with grief and has several unique observations about it even while saying nothing new in general. It is insightful, emotional, and moving if not entirely original. Its most engaging asset is a Great Dane named Apollo whom it uses without getting sentimental.

Writer and Professor Walter (Bill Murray) has committed suicide leaving a large hole in the lives of his wife, daughter, and two exes. In the event of his death he has decided to leave his dog Apollo to his second wife Iris (Naomi Watts) who lives in a small apartment that barely room for the large breed. She reluctantly takes the dog at first, despite the fact her apartment building doesn’t allow pets and at first the dog does what a lot of movie dogs do. He takes up all the space on the bed, tears up the cushions, knocks over the furniture, and otherwise makes a mess of Iris’ living space. Everything we expect an animal not to do.

Iris is under some pressure from her building superintendent to get rid of the dog and she diligently looks for possible routes she can take for adoption and humanely surrendering the animal. Her daughter Val (Sarah Pidgeon) even develops more of a bond with Apollo than she does, at first. But Iris soon becomes attached and finds it difficult to give him up.

Throughout the film we see varying points-of-view of different characters and of course the dog as they all deal with the loss. One thing that all of them have in common is their love for the written word. Walter was not only writer but an inspiration for those around him which makes his loss more devastating. His first wife Elaine (Carla Gugino) develops a closer relationship with Iris despite Iris being the other woman while she was married to Walter. Iris has been working on a manuscript for years that she has put down due to Writer’s Block and the grief would appear to give her some much-needed inspiration.

Iris is the dominant perspective in the film because she was the one developed the closest friendship with Walter. Everyone else is empathetic rather than sympathetic to her situation which means that thankfully we are spared sentimentality which would have absolutely sank this material. We get to experience grief through someone who was viewed as a friend and an equal rather than someone who was loved. She doesn’t seem all that sympathetic for the loss and instead questions why it happened. Suicide provokes all kinds of emotions that are removed from sympathy and the explores the various stages grief as they are uniquely linked to this kind of tragedy.

At one point late in the film Iris even imagines a conversation with Walter who recounts his own suicide and how he thought it was an unselfish act. The scene has power because the actors give it weight, the writing gives it imagination, and the direction gives it a perspective that is genuine. We are moved by both the motions and the context of the moment.

Then there’s Apollo himself who also avoids mawkishness. One thing he is compelled by is the written word. He loves being read to. The directors use him wisely never resorting all the typical tricks that we see in most Hollywood films. When they cut to him they cut an honest reaction not a manipulated one designed to tug at our heartstrings. The dog is as much a star as the two main actors in the film. We are lifted by his the dog’s natural demeanor.