Movie Review: The Friend (2025) seen in theatres

Drama: Not recommended for young children; scenes which discuss death and suicide throughout, some coarse language, scenes which depict coping after loss of loved one, emotional scenes, mild sexual dialogue, scenes which depict possible eviction, scenes depicting grief among animals, scenes which depict therapy sessions.

Naomi Watts stars in this drama which follows a middle aged woman who is tasked with the responsibility of caring for her neighbor and best friend’s dog following his untimely passing despite an initial intense dislike for dogs and a rule prohibiting animals inside the apartment building where she resides, the latter of which is enough for a threat of eviction.

I chose to see this movie specifically with my mother in mind as she is an avid animal lover in real life. I felt like this could be the type of movie she would enjoy as she has had a special connection with every pet we had as I was growing up. We had numerous cats and dogs throughout my childhood all of which she harbored a special connection with. This respect was returned by the dogs and cats themselves of course. To this day, she continues to show that same level of respect to the two current cats she has, (one of which I have yet to meet in person.) For this reason, I felt like she would enjoy this movie. Having said that, this movie was very emotional at times and it reminded her of a dog that she had that recently passed who she had another special connection with. This movie unfortunately served as a reminder of the trauma she suffered when the dog passed. Also with her recent health problems in real life, it triggered some sad moments especially as she worries about her overall health. At the end of this movie, despite it being labelled as a good one, the emotion of the movie was believed to have outweighed the good aspects of it leading me to believe that it may not have been the best movie to see given her current situation. This movie also was a reminder of the fact that she wants another dog but at the same time feels she cannot take care of it properly due to her overall health issues. I guess this movie is a good example of the saying, “For every little bit of bad, there’s some good.” This movie wasn’t horrible but at the same time, it could have been better. This saying goes a long way in determining the overall rating of this movie. I’m going to say that on the surface, this movie was a good one but it definitely had it’s moments. Having said that, this is the first movie I’ve reviewed in a long time where I have actually known something about it first of all but more important than that is the fact is that I actually had something to say about it. This will boost the rating a bit more. However, it will still not receive a complete pass. I will say that this movie was a step in the right direction in terms of enhancing the quality of my reviews somewhat but it definitely wasn’t the greatest mainly because of the sadness that mom endured from watching it. Hopefully, the next review will be better.

Movie rating: 15 out of 20

Next theatre movie review: Death Of A Unicorn

Next home movie review: TBD