Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- witty
- intimate
- quiet evening
- reflective weekend
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film a thoughtful, emotionally resonant grief drama elevated by Naomi Watts’s performance and the unusual realism of its human-animal relationship.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Apollo’s refusal to eat, use the elevator, or surrender Iris’s bed makes his grief materially disruptive and emotionally central.
Iris must process Walter’s suicide, their literary bond, and the unresolved influence he had on her writing.
The Great Dane’s arrival transforms Iris’s tiny rent-controlled New York apartment and displaces her established routines.
Apollo’s enormous physical demands and Iris’s hostility toward dogs create comic friction within a story centered on death and mourning.
Films like The Friend, and why
The Year of the Dog
Shared intimate grief drama, literary protagonists, and an emotionally restrained human-animal bond.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Shared melancholic reflection on loss, friendship, and the disruptive presence of a difficult companion.
The Whale
Shared adult drama about bereavement, emotional withdrawal, and gradual reconnection through an unconventional relationship.
Movie Details
- Directors
- David Siegel, Scott McGehee
- Release Date
- 2025-03-28
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (126)
Cast
- Naomi Watts
- Bill Murray
- Ann Dowd
- Constance Wu
- Sarah Pidgeon
- Carla Gugino
- Noma Dumezweni
- Felix Solis
- Owen Teague
- Bing
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Friend about?
- A solitary New York writer confronts grief, creative paralysis, and an enormous unwanted roommate when her late mentor’s Great Dane enters her life.
- What is The Friend like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Friend as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Friend violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Friend as mild.
- What did critics think of The Friend?
- Critics broadly found the film a thoughtful, emotionally resonant grief drama elevated by Naomi Watts’s performance and the unusual realism of its human-animal relationship.
- Which films are like The Friend?
- Films with a similar feel include The Year of the Dog, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and The Whale.
- How long is The Friend?
- The Friend runs 119 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Friend?
- In United States, The Friend streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
