“The dead dwell in the conditional tense of the unreal.”
You’ve probably never heard of David Siegel or Scott McGehee, but you will. They are business partners, screenwriters, directors, and filmmakers who’ve made eight feature films over the last 30 years—titles that include The Montana Story, What Maisie Knew, The Deep End, and Bee Season. All well worth seeing.
They make the kind of films I love—small, , thought provoking, literary, and independent. But I might never have heard of them either but for the fact that my friend, Dave Northfield, is one of Siegel’s best friends and the two of them stayed at my apartment in Berlin after graduating from UC Berkeley in the early 80s.
I’m telling you this because Siegel and McGehee’s latest effort is in theaters now. It’s an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 National Book Award winning novel The Friend, and If you didn’t read the book, you can see the film. Don’t miss it. It will help you get through these difficult times. I loved the book when I read it two years ago, and I’m going to see the film for a second time this week.
I never imagined the book could be made into a film but they did it. It’s quirky, thoughtful, touching, and deeply moving. Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, and Bing (an enormously talented and mournful Great Dane) are its stars.
Watts plays Iris, a single writer/teacher, who lives in a rent controlled apartment in Manhattan. Murray plays Walter, her friend and mentor, who (spoiler alert) commits suicide, and Bing plays Apollo, the dog Walter leaves behind. None of his three former wives is willing to take Bing and by default all agree he should go with Iris. Quirky enough?
Iris’s problem is that dogs are not allowed in her apartment building. She has the best intentions but is having a hard time finding another home for Apollo. It’s a high wire act as she fends off the super, the building’s board, snarky neighbors and Apollo’s overwhelming presence in her small apartment while she searches for a solution but inevitably falls in love with the dog.
My friend, Jack Livings, who teaches creative writing at Princeton and Stanford hopes the film will bring Nunez the celebrity she deserves. I agree. She does a masterful job of creating a meditation on what a friend of mine calls “life and death and the whole damn thing.” Iris is mourning the loss of Walter and angry about the suicide, but it’s Apollo who brings life’s finite nature and the importance of relationships home to her.
Important note: More than one review of the film has mentioned that some potential viewers have said they couldn’t watch it if the dog dies. FYI: We all die, but the dog does not die in the movie.
Iris manages in a creative way to overcome her problem keeping Apollo in the apartment but has another problem. She’s come to love him, but big dogs have short life spans. For Great Danes it’s six to ten years. Apollo is five when he comes to her and a year later there is a pivotal “come to Jesus” scene.
In the city a short time ago a scary thing happened. It was scorching, the first really bad day of the season, and we were headed for the shade of the park. But before we could get there, and though we hadn’t gone far, you stopped, you buckled and sank to the concrete clearly distressed.
I nearly panicked, thought I was going to lose you right then right there.
How kind people were. Someone dashed into a coffee bar and came back with a bowl of cold water which you drank greedily without getting up. Then a woman passing by stopped, took out an umbrella and stood holding it open to shield you from the sun; it’s OK if I’m late for work, she said. A man driving by offered us a ride, but I knew you’d have trouble climbing into the backseat, and by then thankfully you’d revived and we were able to walk home.
Now every time I walk you my heart is in my throat.
Later, at the beach house where she and Apollo are spending the summer, she has her epiphany and finds peace.
So let’s think no more about it. Let’s look to this day, and only this day. This gift of a perfect summer morning.
One more summer. At least you got that.
One more summer to lie stretched out and contented in the sun.
And, at least I get to say goodbye.
This is Naomi Watt’s film. Except for two short scenes where Walter is the focus. She is part of every scene in the 120 minute film. It’s a bravura performance without drama. I think it’s Oscar worthy. She may be up against Bing or maybe they will both win—he for Best Actor and she for Best Actress. And to complete the sweep Bill Murray wins for Best Supporting Actor and Siegel and McGehee get the Best Adapted Screenplay. I’d vote for that.
Go see it. You won’t be disappointed.
