The Friend Review: Naomi Watts and Bing the Great Dane’s Chemistry Elevates a Tender, Though Overlong Drama

Based on Sigrid Nunez’s bestselling 2018 novel of the same name, what got me interested in The Friend is the inspired casting of Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. They share great scenes together, no matter when they are having casual talks, debating or arguing over something. There’s an immediate spark of chemistry between them. Not lovers but rather best friends. We learn that Walter (Bill Murray) is a successful writer, literary figure and mentor to Iris (Naomi Watts), who’s a novelist herself and also a professor in creative writing.

However, the earlier scene already shows that Walter has died after committing suicide. Iris attends Walter’s funeral and meets his wives — two exes, including Elaine (Carla Gugino) and Tuesday (Constance Wu), and the current one, Barbara, played by Noma Dumezweni. Then, there’s Walter’s adult daughter Val (Sarah Pidgeon).

Barbara wants to talk to Iris about something important after the funeral, which later turns out to be handing over Walter’s beloved Great Dane named Apollo (Bing) to her. Iris is surprised about this upon dropping by at Barbara’s place, wondering why she’s the one to take care of the dog instead of her or Walter’s exes. According to Barbara, it was Walter’s wish to entrust his Apollo over to Iris. She could have firmly said “no” since she’s more of a cat person, and the fact that she lives in a small apartment doesn’t feel like the right choice for a big Great Dane like Apollo.

Of course, there wouldn’t be a movie to begin with if she declines Barbara. So, she reluctantly agrees, even though there’s a strict policy about her rent-controlled apartment isn’t allowed to have any dog. But she brings Apollo back anyway, thinking that it wouldn’t cause her trouble since Barbara reassures her that the Great Dane is very obedient and well-trained.

Except the reality is far from the truth. This includes Apollo taking over her bed, and there’s no way she can instruct him to sleep somewhere else. Bing proves to be a great actor, giving one of the best dog performances I’ve ever seen. There’s a deep sadness in Apollo’s expressive eyes, showing his grief that his late master, Walter, is no longer with him. We see Apollo spending most of the time sulking as he lies on Iris’ bed and cuddles Walter’s Columbia University t-shirt. Unlike most typical dogs, he isn’t interested in playing catch or being proactive. This makes it tougher than Iris expected as she tries her best to bond with Apollo.

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, who also co-adapted the screenplay, the pace is deliberate in developing the love-hate dynamic between Naomi Watts’ Iris and Apollo the Great Dane. Both of them are grieving over the loss of Walter, except that Iris doesn’t show it in an obvious way. She goes to work as usual, and back home, she still doesn’t give up on Apollo.

Watts shows great restraint in her character as Iris struggles to deal with Apollo — the kind of nuanced performance that makes her one of the best actresses of her generation. Her best scene, of course, comes in the later part of the movie, particularly when she finally lets it all out of her feelings she’s been bottling up all this while. In the meantime, Bill Murray is mostly seen in the flashbacks, but even without his physical appearance, his presence is always felt through Walter. Not to mention the characters mentioning his name or talking about him.

Interestingly, The Friend doesn’t rely on big moments to make a point, typically seen in a movie about the relationship between a human protagonist and an animal. If only McGehee and Siegel could trim down the length because the two-hour runtime feels like it overstretched for its own good, resulting in some scenes lingering too long.