Joey Magidson
When you watch The Friend, you almost have to stand in awe of the performance, yes performance, given by Bing the Dog. Writer/directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves here. The film would not work without the work put forth by Bing, and that’s alongside the likes of Bill Murray and Naomi Watts. I was moved deeply by the movie back at the Telluride Film Festival, given the plot here, but I also just admired the attention to canine and New York details. With The Friend beginning its theatrical run, I recently sat down with McGehee and Siegel to discuss it all. Our conversation comes your way today.
In my review from back at Telluride (here), I got personal, writing the following:
My dog loved my mom. He’s my dog, sure, but he had a special bond with her. When she suddenly passed away last year, he grieved her as noticeably and as strongly as I did, as my sister did, or as my dad did. He laid around, waiting to see her. He didn’t want to eat. He would pace around, unable to relax. What was I doing? Not eating, pacing around, not relaxing. The Friend features the line “how do you explain death to a dog?” and that’s a sentence I thought to myself multiple times. The grief I was experiencing was compounded by the despair over not being able to explain any of it to him, or to make him feel better. We were just in it. I tell you all that because, sometimes, what you bring to a movie matters. For most people, The Friend will be a moderately light drama about grief. For me, however, this was one of the harder cinematic experiences in some time. Playing at the Telluride Film Festival, it’s an evocative and well-made work, just one that left me in shambles.
The Friend is at its best when focused on the absolutely stunning Great Dane at the core of the story. Subplots and anything focused more on the literary elements of the flick are more hit or miss. When it’s dog focused, however, things are nearly flawless. This is not a traditional “dog movie” in the slightest, and it’s all the better for it.
Naomi Watts has rarely been better than she is here. She slowly allows the emotion at play to bubble to the surface. She also just has terrific chemistry with Apollo, played by Bing in an all-timer of an animal performance. The regal canine shows so much in his eyes, you’ll swear he’s actually acting. Watts shines late in the game when Iris finally breaks. Bill Murray is content to be less showy her, which makes his Walter feel like a real person. He’s not in the film a ton, but he makes his scenes count.
Below, you can see my discussion with McGehee and Siegel. We spend a lot of time talking about Bing, given how notoriously hard it is to work with animals. Moreover, this film does not exist, let alone work, without the right dog. So, it was only natural. They’re lovely guys who have made a lovely movie, one that impacted me greatly. The Friend begins its theatrical run today, so make sure you check this one out!
Here now is my interview with The Friend filmmakers Scott McGehee and David Siegel. Enjoy:
The Friend is now in theaters!
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