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The Friend is an American drama film that was released in select theaters on March 28, 2025, and nationwide on April 4 in the United States. The film was written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel.
The film is an adaptation of a novel with the same title by American writer Sigrid Nunez. The movie is based on a partially true and mostly fictional story since the book contains autobiographical elements and is written in a hybrid style. Nunez decided to explore the subject of suicide in the book due to a real-life incident involving her friend while she was writing it.
In the movie The Friend, the characters remain fictional, along with certain other parts, such as the relationship between the teacher and student.
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All about the novel — The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
The Friend, by American writer Sigrid Nunez, is a fictional novel inspired by true events in her life. The story follows a writer who lives in Manhattan and has to adopt her friend's dog after her friend commits suicide. The writer and the dog grow closer to each other as they grieve over their friend's demise.
Nunez also drew inspiration from Elizabeth Hardwick's novel Sleepless Nights, as per her interview with Lit Hub on February 23, 2018. In the book, she recalls her time with the person, a friendship which lasted longer than all his marriages.
As per the New York Times (dated December 2018), this novel is also Sigrid Nunez's most successful work in her 23 years of writing. The novel was published in February 2018 by publisher Riverhead, who were surprised with the overnight success of the book, with over 40,000 copies in circulation. The novel also received the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction.
As per Book Marks, a literary review website, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on 21 critics: 17 voted rave and 4 for positive.
Cast and Crew for The Friend
The Friend is written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel. The film is produced by 3dot Productions and Big Creek, while Bleecker Street holds the distribution rights in North America. Giles Nuttgens is the credited cinematographer, and the music score is provided by Jay Wadley and Trevor Gureckis.
Naomi Watts stars as Iris, the writer, and Bill Murray stars as Walter, her late friend and professor. Other notable cast members include Noma Dumezweni, Sarah Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Sarah Baskin, Constance Wu, and many more.
Where to watch The Friend?
The Friend was released in select theaters on March 28, 2025, in the United States of America. As per the Hollywood Reporter, the movie premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2024.
It also received another screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024. After this, the film was acquired by Bleecker Street for distribution in North America. While no official news has been provided over the digital release, viewers can visit their nearest theaters.
As per the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 89 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10
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