The Heart of the Beast – Film Review
by Brian Merriman

Directed by David Ayer
Starring: Brad Pitt (who also co-produces), J.K. Simmons, Anna Lambe,  and Uber as Odin the dog

Duration 101 Minutes

Some male stars feel cursed with beauty. It’s what opens the door to their early screen career. As they learn their trade, some graduate to being fine actors. They become determined to shake off their juvenile lead status, a cause of enduring adulation and work to transfer this regard into admiration for their considerable artistic skill set. Beauty can also be seen as in some way less masculine, as many young male stars are described as pretty. Pitt was one of those few.

As they age, they beef up and assert their maturity and masculinity. The young, androgynous Leonardo DiCaprio also pushed the boundaries as he aged well, and he headed to the wilderness as he asserted his rugged masculine endurance in The Revenant and other heroic roles.

Pitt has diversified well as an actor. Here, his character James Belmont is a rugged, muscled, tattooed and stubbled loner. He’s a highly trained, special forces veteran, retired and seeking a life of solitude after suffering PTSD and heart trouble. In The Heart of the Beast, Pitt asserts once again his dominance as a versatile leading man of the screen for many decades now.

James finds all of this solitude, spectacularly on a seaplane flight over Alaska. Filmed beautifully by Mauro Fiore, the mountain ranges, flowing rivers, clouded skies, forest and wildlife are an awesome backdrop. James, after a misadventure,  finds himself in a largely grim, brutal and dangerous isolation. The struggle to find his way back is an endurance test, triggering the tests he faced in armed conflict.

But it can’t be a Brad Pitt film without a love affair? The chemistry in casting his latest on-screen partner is perfect. This is an unquestionably loving and loyal relationship that has endured more than most. Both worked together in dangerous situations. They bonded and have retired together. Both remain steadfastly loyal in this wonderfully structured story.

If there is to be an Oscar for the perfect co-star, then Odin, a scarred, wounded German Shepherd, has it in the bag. His devotion, companionship, courage, vulnerability, protectiveness and loyalty pour from the screen, in a performance that proves even the heart of a beast can melt a heart of stone.

Clearly, Pitt is at ease with animals as much as Odin, played by Uber, is equally at ease conveying a dramatic storyline. He rises well to the task. There are two brief supporting roles in the capable hands of J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe.

But it’s the endurance of this central partnership, tested to its limit, that remains, long after the snows melt and the Northern Lights fade. The emotionally charged final sequences twist the plot unexpectedly.

Cameron Alexander has written a heart-wrenching story, and David Ayer has directed a memorable film with performances that reflect the beat of the heart of an incredible beast, in an enduring story of love and loyalty.