The Friend
An adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s best-selling National Book Award novel about a woman dealing with her friend’s suicide, The Friend is about Iris (Naomi Watts), a writer and teacher, who finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray when her closest friend, Walter (Bill Murray), dies suddenly and bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb Harlequin Great Dane, Apollo (Bing). Apollo immediately creates practical problems for Iris (he resembles, as one person puts it, a pony), from furniture destruction to eviction notices (from a rent-controlled New York apartment!). Worse, his presence and droopy-eyed, grief-stricken stare are constant reminders of her friend’s death. As the story unfolds it becomes a sweet naturalistic tale of an odd couple who learn to adore each other.