Heart of the Beast

by Julian Spivey

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Director: David Ayer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Uber & J.K. Simmons 
Rated: PG-13 (language and peril) 
Runtime: 1 hour & 41 minutes

 
Screenwriter Cameron Alexander and director David Ayer make a crucial decision in the opening scene of their survival thriller, “Heart of the Beast.” They immediately tell us, as viewers, “the dog isn’t going to die.” This allows us to relax. After all, there's a reason for an entire website called Does the Dog Die? People just don’t want to see it, and we dog lovers will intentionally avoid movies if we believe the dog is going to die.
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The decision to show us a glimpse into the near future calms us down, but there won’t be much calm to be had, even with the realization that the dog won’t be dying over the next hour and 40 minutes, because Odin, the retired combat German Shepherd, and James (Brad Pitt), a retired Special Forces veteran, are going to face Hell after a heart attack leads to James crashing his seaplane in the middle of nowhere in the vast Alaskan wilderness.

This movie is pretty much Pitt and the dog (though there is a great almost cameo from J.K. Simmons), but it’s never boring. It begins with James and Odin having a vacation of sorts- more of a getting away from the world- before the crash begins their harrowing journey back to civilization.

It might have been easier on these two warriors had the plane crash actually killed them, because everything in the Alaskan wilderness is out to kill you: the terrain, the weather, rapids, Grizzly bears and wolves. In fact, there was almost one too many obstacles for James and Odin to clear, in an “are you kidding me?” type way, but the story works for me because I’m a dog lover and the bond between a human and a dog – even if my lazy mutts and I will never be literal warriors – will keep me on the edge of my seat.

Pitt, at 62, seems like he might be going through a Tom Cruise-esque point in his career where everything he does has a bit of machismo to it – though his recently retired Special Forces vet is more believable than him playing a Formula 1 driver old enough to be the father of the rest of the drivers. “F1” somehow got a Best Picture nomination; this film won’t, but I enjoyed “Heart of the Beast” more – again, probably the dog, but Pitt does a good job as a man of few words who loves his dog more than anything else life has to offer.

Uber, the German Shepherd playing Odin, is about the cutest pup actor you’ll ever see. 

Despite the opening where you know the dog survives, you’ll still be scared at moments, and you’ll definitely cry if you have any feelings at all. “Heart of the Beast” is a rare kind of movie: both heartwarming and heartbreaking, with both feelings occasionally coming at the same time.

If there are any faults with the film – other than how many things these two can survive, potentially overwhelming some - it’s that we don’t necessarily get inside James's head, but I don’t think it’s needed. It isn’t a character study. It’s a film about a man and his best friend.