When we hear “Man’s Best Friend”, we immediately think of the loyalty that canines have to their human owners, and for good reason. That devotion is a two-way-street in David Ayer’s extraordinarily moving survival drama Heart of the Beast, a film in which two PTSD-afflicted soldiers put everything on the line for one another. The film is a reunion between Ayer and Brad Pitt, who worked together on the WWII tank thriller, Fury, another bromance of the battlefield. Ayer, a Naval veteran whose films often celebrate the male military experience, has grown by leaps and bounds behind the camera. He’s still telling masculine stories about battle-hardened men (even his The Beekeeper fits this mold), but with an eye towards sentimentality that will tug at even the tightest of heartstrings.
Pitt stars as as retired Special Forces officer James Belmont; a grizzled vet with the battle scars, physical and emotional, to prove it. Along with his best friend and combat dog, Odin, he spends his time exploring the harsh Alaskan wilderness. The echoes of deadly battles past reverberate in their cramped tent, and they aren’t reserved for Belmont alone. Odin, too, suffers night terrors, snuggling up closer to his master during the worst of them. It’s clear that Belmont hopes to spend the rest of his days off the grid, which is why the arrival of a mysterious stranger, played by JK Simmons in a wonderful little role that’s like he just wandered in from Call of the Wild, is off-putting initially.
Belmont will come to wish there were more neighbors around soon, though. While flying his plane to get away from an incoming storm, a sudden heart attack forces a crash landing into the dense Alaskan wilds. Belmont and Odin both survive, barely, and must trek dozens of miles in the harsh, unforgiving terrain for any hope of resue. The journey is unbelievably unforgiving in ways that virtually every survival thriller tends to be. Treacherous terrain, wild animal attacks, sudden weather, flash floods, and the ever-present threat of Belmont’s weak ticker giving out on him at any moment.
Odin and Belmont aren’t just inseparable during this trial, they are like mirror images of one another. Deep, soulful eyes search the beautiful and deadly natural landscape (DP Mauro Fiore providing the breathtaking visuals), their mounting wounds a constant reminder of the pain they’ve already survived and will fight to survive again. Odin, who has one prosthetic leg and a mouthful of titanium teeth gained from his time in service, is a true co-star alongside Pitt and not just along for the ride. Occasionally, Ayer shocks us further by showing things from Odin’s perspective, reminding of the recent canine horror film, Good Boy. It’s not just Belmont’s resourcefulness that’s pushed to the limit, but Odin’s intense combat training, as well. That he’s always just as prepared for any chaotic situation is a nod to the good work being done by service animals today.
Ayer has come a long way from his cop and crime thrillers such as Harsh Times, Street Kings, and End of Watch. I’m not sure the Ayer of that period could make a movie like Heart of the Beast, which is both sprawling and intimate. He and Pitt have found a chemistry working together that has worked out well for them both. This is another career highlight for Pitt, even as it asks him to play second-fiddle to a canine who is sure to get most of the attention from audiences. It calls for a physicality that Pitt, at the age of 62 (!!!) can still embody and that Ayer clearly cherishes the chance to shoot.
It’s easy to make a movie about the companionship between man and dog. In fact, it’s so easy that making one which is truly meaningful and memorable is the real challenge. Heart of the Beast is one of the best movies about that special bond than we’ve seen in a long time. While very pro-military and overflowing with machismo, it’s also undeniably sweet and gratifying, especially for those who consider themselves dog lovers. A bittersweet but satisfying conclusion gets trampled somewhat by on-screen information about veteran service dogs, their achievements, and the need to give them good homes. While that message is one that is worth spreading far and wide, the exemplary example set by Odin throughout Heart of the Beast is the best messenger one could ask for.
Heart of the Beast opens September 25th.
