The Friend received strong reviews out of its Telluride Film Festival debut last year, further building its reputation at TIFF. It was here that word grew enough that it seemed a sure thing it would get a respectable release. And after Bleecker Street nabbed the rights, it was on its way to 2025. It flew a bit under the radar there for a while but now, ahead of its debut in a couple of months, we have the first trailer.
Here is the official synopsis, as per Bleecker Street, who will be distributing the drama: “In THE FRIEND, adapted from the bestselling novel, Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable New York life upended when her friend and mentor Walter (Bill Murray) bequeaths her his Great Dane, Apollo. The regal yet intractable beast is a constant reminder of Walter and causes various problems— yet as Iris bonds with Apollo, she begins to cope with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.” The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Sigurd Nunez, who won the National Book Award for her work.
Outside of Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, the supporting cast features Sarah Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Ann Dowd, Noma Dumezweni, Felix Solis, Owen Teague, and more. The movie is directed by the longtime team of Scott McGehee and David Siegel, whose first film Suture came over 30 years ago. Their most recent movie, Montana Story, was also distributed by Bleecker Street. That’s a pretty strong movie, but I’d personally recommend 2012’s What Maisie Knew first.
The Friend reunites Watts and Murray for the first time in a decade, having previously worked together on Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent. The Friend, however, will have quite a different dynamic between the stars, especially given the plot description. The Friend will be one of three movies Murray has lined up this year along with Riff Raff and Wee Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme.
The Friend will go wide on April 4th following a New York City run beginning March 21st.
What did you think of the trailer for The Friend? Give us your thoughts below!
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