Our Friend
Our Friend (previously titled The Friend) is a drama film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, from a screenplay by Brad Ingelsby.[2] It stars Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson and Jason Segel.
Our Friend | |
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Directed by | Gabriela Cowperthwaite |
Produced by |
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Written by | Brad Ingelsby |
Based on | The Friend by Matthew Teague |
Starring | |
Music by | Rob Simonsen |
Cinematography | Joe Anderson |
Edited by | Colin Patton |
Production company |
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Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 124 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2019.
Premise
Nicole and Matthew Teague, faced with Nicole's impending death, see their best friend move in to help them out.
Cast
- Casey Affleck as Matthew Teague
- Dakota Johnson as Nicole Teague
- Jason Segel as Dane Faucheux
- Jake Owen as Aaron
- Gwendoline Christie as Teresa
- Cherry Jones as Faith Pruett
- Denée Benton as Charlotte
- Isabella Rice as Molly
- Violet McGraw as Evie
- Marielle Scott as Kat
- Ahna O'Reilly as Gale
- Azita Ghanizada as Elizabeth
- Sampley Barinaga as Kenny
Production
In January 2019, it was announced Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, Jason Segel and Jake Owen had been cast in the film, with Gabriela Cowperthwaite directing from a screenplay by Brad Ingelsby, based upon an Esquire article.[3][4] Gwendoline Christie and Cherry Jones were among additional casting announced in February.[5]
Filming began on February 19, 2019 in Fairhope, Alabama.[6][7]
Release
It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2019.[8] It also was screened at AFI Fest on November 16, 2019.[9] In January 2020, Roadside Attractions and Gravitas Ventures acquired distribution rights to the film.[10]
Reception
Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes collected 26 critic reviews and identified 77% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 7.19/10.[11] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average rating of 44 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]
Ella Kemp from The Playlist praised the performances stating: "The Friend is successfully anchored by its three leading players... The sensitivity of these performances, particularly from Affleck and Segel, offers a reckoning on sincere friendship and the limits of devotion that remains with the viewer, long after the days of waiting and the years of pain have finally come to an end."[13]
Katey Rich of Vanity Fair said: "It succeeds by sticking closely to the important specifics ... It's a small-scale human story, precious few of which make it to film these days. It's also, if you're in the market for that kind of thing, an extremely effective tearjerker."[14] While Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "So much of the unpleasantness has been scrubbed from the picture, until what remains is precisely the kind of dishonest, sanitized no-help-to-anyone TV-movie version of death that inspired Teague to set the record straight in the first place."[15]
References
- "The Friend". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
- "Elevation Pictures". Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck To Star In ‘The Friend' Deadline
- Huelsman, Morgan (January 16, 2019). "Jake Owen is Headed To The Big Screen With Casey Affleck & Dakota Johnson". The Bobby Bones Show. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- Gwendoline Christie Joins Dakota Johnson Drama ‘The Friend'; Shoot Underway In Alabama On Hot-Seller For STX Deadline
- Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson star in film being shot in Fairhope WKRG
- "The Friend". Production List. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- Lang, Brent (July 23, 2019). "Toronto Film Festival: 'Joker,' 'Ford v Ferrari,' 'Hustlers' Among Big Premieres". Variety. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- "The Friend". AFI Fest. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- Hipes, Patrick (January 23, 2020). "Toronto Title 'The Friend' Lands At Roadside Attractions And Gravitas Ventures , Will Hit Theaters In Fall". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- The Friend (2019), retrieved 22 April 2020
- The Friend, retrieved 2019-10-16
- "'The Friend': An Affecting Look At Love, Cancer & Heartbreaking Limits Of Devotion [TIFF Review]". theplaylist.net. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- Nast, Condé. "The Friend Is a Radically Empathetic Cancer Drama". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- Debruge, Peter (2019-09-07). "Toronto Film Review: 'The Friend'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-16.