The Friend — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
I don’t like to look negatively on the film industry, but over the last few years, it truly does seem that if you’re not a film that’s based on a comic book or novel, you pretty much have to be based on a true story to gain any traction. Aside from very slim pickings in terms of widely released original films, 2019 has been in a slump. Thankfully, it looks like tons of original content is on the way. Through festival circuits and the fall season in general, 2019 is starting to look up. Sadly, I can’t quite include The Friend in that conversation. Recently having seen it at the premiere of the Toronto International Film Festival, I have to admit that I’m a little underwhelmed by it.
Following the true story, Matt Teague (Casey Affleck) is learning to cope with the fact that his wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) is on her death bed, and has only six months left to live. Matts best friend Dane (Jason Segel) comes into the picture as someone who decides to live with them and help take care of their children, as well as her well being, for as long as he can. The core true story here is superb and very heartwarming/heart-wrenching, but the overall execution sort of felt overdone in my opinion.
The Friend, told out of order in the same vein as a Blue Valentine or (500) Days of Summer (both of which I love), this is a film that gives you many of the answers early on and eventually has to skip over a few things, montaging throughout certain story elements that would have made the film so much better if explored further. On top of that, this film already feels its drawn-out two-hour run time. This is a very emotional story that works very well, but the biggest downside this movie has is the fact that it really started to try my patience. Yes, I will admit the final act did move me and a few tears were shed, but aside from a few great scenes, this is a movie that feels too long for its own good.
What made this movie worth watching was the stellar performance delivered by Casey Affleck. Dakota Johnson and Jason Segel both give great dramatic performances here as well, but Affleck is who truly stood out to me as the best aspect this movie had to offer. If it wasn’t for the great performances and the overall story that brought everything to an emotionally satisfying conclusion by the end, I probably would have given this film a negative grade, because this movie felt unfinished, in that it just feels too long.
I may seem to be beating a dead horse when mentioning this movie feels long, but personally, I believe this movie has about an hour of absolutely wonderful substance, but the actual film from start to finish feels bolstered down by a lot of scenes that could have been trimmed or cut out, without harming the best aspects. Sure, it may seem like a nitpick to criticize the run time this harshly, but it was the main reason I was a little impatient with the movie as a whole. Still, great performances, solid direction by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and a final act that will have many people in tears is more than enough to give it a passing grade, but I just didn’t really love the experience as a whole, which is a shame, considering I like everyone involved.
Rating: 3/5
