One Dog and his Man

Heart of the Beast is a man and his dog against nature film. As such, it requires a lead who can be tough but also vulnerable and has the screen presence to draw the audience in without dialogue. This film has such a lead. It also has Brad Pitt.

See, the star of the show really is ex-army dog Odin (played by a German Shepherd named Uber, with three of his sons helping out). Odin has metal teeth, an artificial leg and suffers from PTSD but soldiers on with the joyous spirit only a dog can muster. It's just as well, since he is the only thing holding his human, retired Special Forces Command Sergeant Major James Belmont (Pitt) together. Belmont is himself haunted by nightmares of the mission that left him and Odin as sole survivors and it's safe to say he isn't a people person. The pair are exploring the Alaskan wilderness when a potential heart attack leads to Belmont crashing his little plane and leaving them with an arduous and dangerous trek back to civilisation.

That this script featured on the famous Black List (a list of the most liked unproduced scripts in Hollywood) is a bit of a puzzler. Not that it's bad, it's just very simple. Literally a man and his dog travel through rivers, woods and mountains while the threat of injury and the local wildlife loom large. What puts the film over the top is its central duo. Seldom has a movie showcased the bond between human and hound so well. The way Odin's PTSD is shown via dreams is fairly unique and humanises him. Belmont constantly looks to his canine companion and any time one of them is hurt the fear and grief is writ large on the face of the other. It really does feel like they are one and the same and this gives the movie genuine heart.

The only other person with any real screen time is JK Simmons, whose appearance in the first act serves two purposes. Firstly, to provide a kindly but authoritative voice for the film's trailer. Secondly, to give Belmont someone to explain his and Odin's backstory to. This includes celebrating the death of the scumbags who injured Odin (how dare they try and defend themselves in their own country) and generally indulge in some US army love. It is a David Ayer film after all and macho Dad movies are his comfort zone.

That isn't to say he is afraid to go for the feels. With a touching bond at its core and two lovable leads, plucking at the heartstrings is easy for a film like this and Ayer makes sure it does, showing a hitherto seldom seen knack for sentimentality. Having a dog as a central figure instantly ups the emotionality and two stoic figures (human or otherwise) battling adversity for the love of each other always makes the heart swell. So, predictable and contrived as it may be, this film WILL make you tear up.

The other thing Heart of the Beast has going for it that it's very good as an "outdoors" movie. Some of the feats of canine and human heroism are a little cartoony (as are some of the wildlife they encounter) but the action has real world texture. It's obvious Pitt and his canine companion are really down there in the mud and the rivers and the film simply wouldn't work if it had been filmed in front of a green screen. The great outdoors looks fantastic, although flora experts may be taken out of the moment by the fact filming took place in New Zealand rather than the setting of Alaska.

Really it's the central duo that carry Heart of the Beast. Beyond them, it's a simple, but well executed, story of man vs nature and the will to survive. On the one hand the message seems to be the rather authoritarian mantra that suffering is the most noble thing a sentient creature can do. On the other, the altogether more wholesome take away is that if all you have in life is a faithful dog, you're doing OK.

7 one last missions out of 10.

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