"The Friend" Trailer: Naomi Watts Bonds with a Great Dane in This Heartfelt Canine Drama, Co-Starring Bill Murray

Based on the acclaimed novel, this touching film follows a woman’s unexpected bond with a 150 lb. Great Dane.

Dog lovers are always on the lookout for a good canine movie to enjoy. Unfortunately, the selection is pretty sparse out there. And let’s be honest—most dog movies these days are cheesy as hell, overloaded with sentimentality, and often lacking in the acting department. But when a new dog movie suddenly pops up with names like Naomi Watts and Bill Murray attached to it, don’t be surprised if the dog lover in you suddenly perks up to take notice.

So, take a sniff at this: It’s the trailer for The Friend, a new heartstring-tugging canine drama starring two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts as a New York writer and teacher whose life takes an unexpected turn when her closest friend and mentor (Bill Murray) passes away, leaving her with one final request—to take care of his beloved dog, Apollo, a beautiful but massive 150 lb. Great Dane. Now, with Apollo in her life, she must figure out how to not only become a dog person but also manage a giant, powerful pooch in the hustle and bustle of New York City.

The film also stars Sarah Pidgeon, Constance Wu, Carla Gugino, Ann Dowd, Noma Dumezweni, Felix Solis, Owen Teague, and Josh Pais, with Bing, the dog, as Apollo.

Here’s the official synopsis:

In The Friend, writer and teacher Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Bill Murray) dies suddenly and bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb. Great Dane. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates practical problems for Iris—from furniture destruction to eviction notices—as well as more existential ones, his looming presence constantly reminding her of her friend’s problematic choices in both life and death. Yet as Iris unexpectedly bonds with the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.

The Friend is written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, the filmmaking duo known for the acclaimed dramas Montana Story, What Maisie Knew, and Bee Season. McGehee and Siegel made their directorial debut with the critically acclaimed 2001 murder-mystery thriller The Deep End, featuring a star-making performance from Tilda Swinton.

The film is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by author Sigrid Nunez, which was partly inspired by her own friend’s untimely death.

The Friend premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and screened at TIFF last September, where it earned mostly positive reviews from critics. Here are some snippets:

"The Friend functions perfectly well as a dog picture, a movie about a frazzled single woman learning to care for a gentle but unruly animal in the big, bad city."
— Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture

"Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel have avoided all the pitfalls of adaptation while remaining faithful to the source material... The Friend is just their style, with its beautiful, light-handed approach to big issues."
— Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter

"A by-the-numbers crowd-pleaser with a bit more on its mind than your typical canine-centric tearjerker."
— Peter Debruge, Variety

"It unabashedly wears its heart on its sleeve, paying homage to our furry friends while probing deeper themes about bereavement."
— Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly

The Friend arrives in select theaters on March 28, followed by a nationwide release on April 4.