It's always strange when you see a film a really long time before it actually comes out. This happens to me a lot when I'm covering film festivals, as movies routinely sit on the shelf for a year or so, and often come out with different names when they finally see the light of day. I saw Our Friend at TIFF in 2019, when it was called The Friend, and I found it to be a profoundly moving story of friendship.
It's based on the real-life experience of a journalist named Matthew Teague, whose wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer and found himself supported by a family friend, who tirelessly tried to get the family through their ordeal in one piece. Casey Affleck plays Teague, and Jason Segel plays the devoted family friend. You can check out my interviews with both guys above, and they had plenty to say about how movies like this often don't get made in as true-to-life a way as Our Friend.
I also got to interview Dakota Johnson, who plays Teague's terminally ill life, and she delivers what I think might be a career-best performance. Check out my chat with her below!
Our Friend is out now in theaters and on VOD. Watch it with someone you love!
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