Our Friend | Film Review

 

I had never heard of this movie before seeing it on Amazon Prime, which surprised me because I'm a fan of the actors involved. It was only after watching the trailer that I actually understood what the film was about, and as soon as I saw the trailer, I wanted to watch it.

When married couple Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and Matthew's (Casey Affleck) lives change forever, their friend Dane (Jason Segel) puts his life on hold to move into their home.

I liked this film a lot. It is exactly what the trailer says it is, and I liked that about it.

There is great chemistry between all three of the leads, but particularly Nicole and Matthew. They are a really believable couple.

The film goes back and forth in time, showing a variety of different points in all three of these character's lives, without getting confusing. It works really well.

This is such a real story - everything about the film is rooted in reality. Not only does this make sense because it's a true story, but it also makes everything feel really authentic.

All three of the actors are amazing in this film. But for me, Dakota Johnson is really underrated, and doesn't get the credit she deserves. She is really amazing as Nicole, and she elevates the actors around her.

I was much more interested in the relationship between Nicole and Matt than Dane's life without them. The parts focusing on him weren't great for me because I didn't care about who he was outside of them. In a way, this mirrors a lot of the things about Dane, and the way that this character moves in the world outside of his friends. I feel like if we had seen more of Dane's life alone from the beginning of the film, we would care more about him as a solo character. But as he is so rooted in Nicole and Matt from the start of the film, we never really know him without them.

We know exactly what will happen, but the entire story is still heart-breaking. However, I didn't feel particularly sad while watching it. I didn't feel particularly connected to these characters, as much as I felt for them and sympathised for them.

Overall, I liked this film. The idea gives something different than your typical 'couple dealing with cancer' movie, but the feelings that it evokes from the audience are completely the same.

6.5/10