Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of March 31, 2025
The Friend
Rated R for a sexual reference and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
In Theaters
Based on the award-winning novel by Sigrid Nunez, Naomi Watts plays a single novelist living in a small New York City Apartment whose mentor and friend, played by Bill Murray, commits suicide, and bequeaths his giant Great Dane to her. As her apartment doesn’t allow dogs, and she has no interest in taking care of a 150-pound behemoth, life is tough as she tries to figure out a new home for the animal. But as she starts to bond with the dog, things start to change. I was really looking forward to this one after seeing the trailer, as it looked like a great Bill Murray vehicle that would undoubtedly be sad at times, but it also looked to have real potential for being funny. So there was a little disappointment that Bill Murray plays a relatively small role and there is very little humor to be found. While Murray doesn’t have the expected screen time, he is looming large in every single frame, as the entire film is basically about him. While the film lacks in laughter, it turns out to be a highly intellectual and poignant look at the relationship between a dog and their owner, as well as a thoughtful viewpoint of suicide and legacy. With the subject matter being so grim at times, the filmmakers make a tremendous attempt at trying to keep the tissues away by keeping the focus off the sad things, while always making them the elephant in the room. This proves to be effective, and while I did drop a few tears, I wasn’t balling like I expected as I moved through the film. Naomi Watts was such perfect casting here, turning in a deep and moving performance which draws in empathy like a black hole. You can easily put yourself in her shoes as you experience her ups and downs. This ends up being a very different kind of dog movie than I have ever seen. As I have already inferred, there is no hijinx or silliness anywhere to be found here. Instead, this turns out to be a more mature discussion about the relationship between man and beast which fixates more on the human and the influence that dogs have on them. B+