"A compassionate portrait of mourning and the bonds that keep us united."
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
"It unabashedly wears its heart on its sleeve, paying homage to our furry friends while probing deeper themes about bereavement."
— Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly
"The work Watts and Murray do in this sequence is both emotionally raw and acutely thoughtful, rife with specificity. It’s career-high stuff."
— Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com
"There’s a sweetness to The Friend that is rare in cinema today. There’s no cynicism in McGehee and Siegel’s version of the story, nor is there any malice."
— Emily Zemler, Observer
"It gracefully captures the remarkable, singular relationship that human beings share with their pets, tapping into the poignancy and warmth that comes from such a bond."
— Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly
"It’s the sort of witty, wise, and warm character study we seem to be running out of these days. And that’s just when it comes to its standout dog star, the Great Dane (emphasis on great) Bing."
— Kate Erbland, IndieWire
"This is a love story, after all, and one with a keen grasp of the mournful, curious glances between its two leads — of how much goes untranslated between them, and how much is conveyed."
— Sheri Linden, The New York Times
"While we see the Iris-Apollo relationship develop from putting up each other to deep affection, the movie is much more a meditation on grief, and it matches the literary grace of the book with delicacy and depth."
— Nell Minow, Movie Mom
"Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel have avoided all the pitfalls of adaptation while remaining faithful to the source material... The Friend is just their style, with its beautiful, light-handed approach to big issues."
— Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter
"The Friend’s deepest win is how acutely it understands the hearts of dog people, perhaps as well as Laure Anderson’s wonderful Heart of a Dog, as the most dignified dog movie since that understated non-fiction gem."
— Tomris Laffly, AwardsWatch
"Naomi Watts and Bill Murray are funny and touching as the most recent guardians of a 150-pound Great Dane named Apollo, but the scene-stealing pup scampers off with this slight but irresistible character study and wins a special place in your heart."
— Peter Travers, ABC News
