Hollywood Film Review
Johnson Thomas
Fairly Worthy Tragic Drama
Film: Our Friend (original Title ‘The Friend’)
Cast: Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, Jason Segel, Gwendoline Christie, Cherry Jones, Ahna O'Reilly, Jake Owen, Denée Benton
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Rating: * * *
Runtime: 124 min.
A tale of friendship in its purest form, this film based on Matthew Teague’s powerful Esquire essay, ‘The Friend’ works up a strong case for unconditional friendship and empathetic caring. Yes, it does tug at your heartstrings but the sentiments expressed here are not entirely maudlin. It’s a tragic ‘Love Story’ from another angle – where the friend Dane ( Jason Segal) puts his own life on hold to care for, comfort and support his besties Matt (Casey Affleck) a journalist for The Atlantic and Nicole( Dakota Johnson) an actor , and their two little girls as they battle with Nicole’s terminal cancer.
Teauge’s article gets the full-on script treatment by Brad Ingelsby while lending some context as to why Dane would be willing to make such a huge sacrifice as putting his entire life and relationships, including the one with his girlfriend Kat (Marielle Scott) on hold. The film shows Dane living a sedentary rather boring life and having a persona that’s content to stay in the shadows of his two more aspirational friends. He is also shown going on a lonesome trek in the wilderness and encountering a similarly disheartened and subsequently resurrected soul who encourages him to find meaning in his existence even if it may be through friends. By doing that Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s film shows Dane as a well-meaning, rather dispassionate individual who unlike others in the film, appears to have no clear direction.
But it’s eventually Dane’s (Jason Segel) selfless act of moving in and helping them shoulder the burden of a family shattering, impending loss (for several months together), that defines the friendship and the film.
The nonlinear narrative flits back and forth through time expanding on the friendship and its course over several years. While Mathew’s general ineptitude as a homemaker (under duress) and Nicole’s terminal cancer are vital to the telling, they take a backseat to Dane’s compassionate giving. We do get snapshots about the couples’ milestones but we never get to know them as intimately as we get to know Dane. The terminal cancer is portrayed rather romantically and the focus of the narrative is largely on Dane’s depth of feeling for the couple. The intimacy of a family in crisis is portrayed with a rather sterile un-affecting candour and the overblown background music doesn’t allow for deeper involvement. The appealing A list cast do well to keep the entreaty going with a semblance of control. The director also uses admirable restraint in putting this story forward. "It was a routine death in every sense. It was ordinary. Common. The only remarkable element was Dane.” That’s what Teague wrote in his essay ‘The Friend’ and that’s exactly what this film hopes to convey. This may not a full-on tearjerker but it’s theme of friendship above all is more likely to resonate with a pan-Indian audience who value emotions, relationships and sentiment.
