Title – The Friend (2024)

Directors – Scott McGehee & David Siegel (What Maisie Knew)

Cast – Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Constance Wu, Carla Gugino

Plot – When her long term friend/lover Walter (Murray) passes away, lonesome New York based writer Iris (Watts) begrudgingly takes in his Great Dane dog Apollo and begins to learn more about herself and her new friend in the process.  

“What will happen to the dog?”

Review by Eddie on 12/09/2025

An adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s commercially successful and critical lauded book of the same name, a novel that was ranked at #68 in the New York Times list of best 100 books of the 21st century in 2024, directing duo Scott McGehee and David Siegel return to the big screen for an “almost” drama that fails to come together in a way that would’ve made this canine infused tale something special.

Reuniting stars Naomi Watts and Bill Murray for the first time since they last appeared together on screen in 2014’s St. Vincent, McGehee and Siegel had a fair amount of star power and potential at their fingertips, with viewers right to be hopeful that they would’ve found the same amount of dramatic brilliance they unearthed with their best feature What Maisie Knew all the way back in 2012 but despite a strong start and some powerful moments scattered throughout, The Friend fails to standout from a crowded marketplace and become something memorable or life-affirming.

Following the life of Watt’s softly spoken and insular New York based writer Iris who begrudgingly adopts her late friend Walter’s (an underused Murray) Great Dane dog Apollo in the wake of his unexpected suicide, The Friend walks in the footsteps of many similar unlikely acquittances dramas that have come before and while it’s likely to play better to any viewers that are suckers for a good dog centric feature, many will be left relatively cold and uninspired by a film that at two hours often feels as though its merely walking through the motions.

Starting off promisingly enough as we are introduced to Iris’s stagnated world that is upended by the arrival of Apollo into her life and cramped city apartment building, The Friend struggles to mine much narrative gold throughout its long in the tooth middle section that never appears to be overly confident if its examining Iris’s personal life, her dealings with her new four legged companion or a more comedically minded dramedy that features a vast array of dog centric humour, ensuring McGehee and Siegel’s highest profile release yet is a hard film to fall in love with.

Everything is well intentioned and it’s undeniable that in its latter stages The Friend packs some powerful punches, particularly for those that call themselves dog people but despite the brave attempts of a talented cast (that includes a top notch canine performance from Bing as Apollo) there’s a magic ingredient missing from this awards baiting affair, that based off reception, was clearly to be found in the written version this forgettable feature was built on.

Final Say –

There’s moments to be found in The Friend that harbour strong emotional weight and intrigue but there’s a lot of uninspired filler to be found as well, weighing this uneven adaptation down to become a forgettable dramatic offering.

2 1/2 commandeered beds out of 5