NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The star of 鈥淭he Friend鈥� has the loping stride of Robert Mitchum and the droopy, melancholy eyes of Peter Lorre. He has those classic Hollywood features 鈥� instantly accessible, forever unknowable 鈥� and when he walks down the street with his co-stars, and , people鈥檚 heads turn.
鈥淧eople would go, 鈥楬ey, get a load of the blonde,鈥樷�� Murray says before acting out a double take. 鈥淕et a load of THE DOG!鈥欌��
Bing, the harlequin Great Dane of 鈥淭he Friend,鈥� is the latest in a long line of But unlike canine idols before him, Bing is gigantic. Toto would fit in his paw and Asta could comfortably sit on his head. David Siegel, co-director of 鈥淭he Friend,鈥� estimates Bing has a good 40 pounds (18 kilograms) on Watts. Gentle as he is, Bing looks more like one of those than Lassie.
鈥淭he Friend,鈥� which opens nationwide in theaters Friday, isn鈥檛 your average dog movie. either. Adapted from , it stars Watts as Iris, a New York author who reluctantly inherits Apollo (Bing), the cherished companion of her late mentor Walter (Murray). Their cramped coexistence is challenged not just by the pet policy of Iris鈥� building but by Apollo's own grief, too.
鈥淗ow creatures find each other 鈥� what we share with other humans but also animals 鈥� that鈥檚 where the solace comes from,鈥� says Siegel. 鈥淲e cast Bing to some degree for his countenance, just like we cast actors for their countenance. Does he have a face that can look sad? Does he look happy when he鈥檚 happy?鈥�
On a recent spring day, Bing did indeed look happy, if a little worn out. He had spent the day at photo shoots and other media appearances, with his owner, Beverly Klingensmith, shuttling him around Manhattan in a van. Bing鈥檚 duties, which included appearances on 鈥淭he Tonight Show鈥� and 鈥淭he View,鈥� were arguably more demanding of him than his biped co-stars. In between interviews, he warmly nuzzled a reporter while a grateful publicist compared him, given the pressures of a movie marketing, to an emotional support animal.
鈥淎t one of the Q&As, every time he鈥檇 move, the audience would go, 鈥楢www,鈥欌�� said Klingensmith. 鈥淏ill was like: 鈥業 told them not to bring out the dog yet.鈥欌��
But Murray and Watts have grown accustomed to being upstaged by their co-star. Not only that, as proud 鈥渄og people,鈥� they鈥檙e delighted by Bing and praise him as not just a good boy but a fine actor. Murray has long maintained he wouldn't trust anyone that a dog didn鈥檛 like.
鈥淒ogs have a pretty good sense of who鈥檚 OK,鈥� Murray muses. 鈥淚鈥檝e met many thousands of people and there鈥檚 a real high number of people I wouldn鈥檛 trust. But as far as dogs, there鈥檚 maybe only been, like, three.鈥�
For writer-directors Scott McGehee and Siegel, the filmmaking duo of 鈥淭he Deep End鈥� and 鈥淲hat Maisie Knew,鈥� the prominence of the dog in Nunez鈥檚 book 鈥� a black-and-white Great Dane graces the cover 鈥� was both a great hook for the movie and the biggest challenge in making it. When they contacted trainer Bill Berloni, he urged them to consider another breed.
鈥淲hen you put that dog on the cover of a book that wins the National Book Award, it鈥檚 got to be that dog,鈥� says Siegel, laughing. 鈥淏ill was like, 鈥楥an鈥檛 it be another dog?鈥� We were like (holding up imaginary book): 鈥楲ook.鈥欌��
An extensive search ultimately led them to an obedience-training club in Des Moines, Iowa. There, they found Bing and Klingensmith, who runs a kennel on a 10-acre property in Newton, Iowa, with her husband. The directors, having already looked coast-to-coast, stopped their search immediately.
鈥淲e kind of knew right away,鈥� McGehee says. 鈥淗e was a little too young at the time. We thought we were going to be making the movie that spring. Then the pandemic hit. So he aged beautifully right into the role.鈥�
鈥淚f you see George Clooney in person, it鈥檚 like he attracts light in a special way,鈥� adds McGehee. 鈥淏ing has that.鈥�
As much as Berloni tried to prep Klingensmith on what lay ahead, she acknowledges, while in the midst of a hectic publicity tour, that she didn鈥檛 fully realize what she was getting into. But Bing responded well to the filmmaking process. (A representative of the American Humane Society was also present on set.)
鈥淗e loves to do things. The days where he had really active behaviors were his favorites,鈥� says Klingensmith. 鈥淎nd what dog doesn鈥檛 want to spend 24/7 with their owner?鈥�
Special care was taken to acquaint Bing and Watts 鈥� not just to bring them closer but so that Watts would feel comfortable keeping such a powerful animal safe on the streets of New York. A huge amount of 鈥淭he Friend鈥� unfolds with just the two of them interacting 鈥� a testament to both Watts' subtle, quicksilver powers and to Bing鈥檚 expressiveness.
鈥淗e was a very curious dog and he did really look at you with attention. I found him a pure delight to work with,鈥� Watts says. 鈥淭he scene when I break down, if he hears crying, he鈥檚 a little spooked. He picks up on everything. He鈥檚 like: 鈥業s something wrong?鈥欌��
Can a dog act? It鈥檚 a question that might not have bedeviled philosophers or animal-rights activists, but that anyone watching a movie like 鈥淭he Friend鈥� is sure to ponder. Murray, who voiced one in Wes Anderson's 鈥淚sle of Dogs,鈥� is an ardent believer.
鈥淭he dog gives an amazing performance,鈥� Murray says. 鈥淲hen I first saw some of the cut footage, I realized the dog had been listening to everything that鈥檚 going on in every scene. The dog鈥檚 reactions to what鈥檚 happening in the scene is better than many actors or actresses I鈥檝e worked with. Many. Not Naomi.鈥�
Anytime a one inevitably worries for their fate. (There's even a website, www.DoestheDogDie.com, committed to warning moviegoers.) As a critic long traumatized by films like 鈥淥ld Yeller鈥� and 鈥淯mberto D.,鈥� the Will Smith movie 鈥淚 Am Legend鈥� even once prompted me , pleading it to spare the puppy dogs.
鈥淭he Friend鈥� plays with that tradition, bookending the movie with reflections on dog movies and an early assurance that 鈥� unlike in the book 鈥� the dog makes it this time. 鈥淰ery early on, we were like: We cannot kill the dog,鈥� McGehee says.
For a movie that鈥檚 not so much about locating a solution to grief as it is about finding comfort on your way through it, it鈥檚 one concession 鈥� a bone 鈥� to those who have suffered enough.
鈥淧eople have lost dogs and felt like this. People have lost people and felt like this, and their only solace has been a dog. Or their only solace has been a person,鈥� Murray reflects. 鈥淭he movie really bangs on both sides of the animal kingdom.鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
