Heart of the Beast Review: Brad Pitt, Odin and the Wilderness
I knew very little about Heart of the Beast going in. Brad Pitt and a dog. That was about it.
If I'm honest, it's probably not a film I would normally choose to spend money on. I'm not a massive dog person, and from the outside it would be easy to look at this and think it's simply a survival film about a man and his dog.
It's much more than that.
What surprised me most was how quickly I became invested in the relationship between James, played by Brad Pitt, and Odin. Their companionship never felt forced. The film takes the time to show you why they are the way they are, what they have been through, and why they depend on each other so much.
There is sadness behind that relationship, but it doesn't feel like the film is constantly trying to squeeze emotion out of you. It feels sincere.
Pitt is excellent here. At no point did I feel like I was simply watching Brad Pitt on screen. I saw James.
When James is in pain, you feel it. When he is frightened for Odin, particularly when the dog is injured, that emotion comes across completely. There are moments where very little needs to be said because the relationship between the two characters has already done the work.
One of the things I also liked was how the film deals with trauma.
James is living with the consequences of his past, but the film also makes the point that trauma is not something experienced only by people. Odin carries his own scars too. Their experiences are different, but there is an understanding between them which helps explain why their bond is so strong.
That gives the film more depth than I expected going in.
The wilderness is the third character
From a CineMapper point of view, though, there was another character I couldn't ignore: the location itself.
The story takes place in Alaska, but Heart of the Beast was actually filmed in New Zealand, with production using the dramatic landscapes of the South Island. Areas associated with the shoot include Queenstown and the wider Queenstown Lakes region, Lake Wakatipu, Mount Aspiring National Park and Milford Sound.
And it looks incredible.
I was fortunate enough to watch the film in IMAX, which probably made an already impressive landscape feel even bigger. Huge stretches of wilderness, mountains, forests and open water surround James and Odin, and at times the two of them feel tiny against it all.
It gives the film a real sense of isolation.
I deliberately avoided researching the filming locations before watching because I didn't want to spoil anything for myself. That meant I went into those scenes without trying to identify every mountain or stretch of water. I could just take it in as part of the story.
For me, there are really three main characters in Heart of the Beast: James, Odin and the wilderness.
The scenery is not there simply to look nice in the background. It creates the danger, the isolation and a lot of the atmosphere. You feel how far away from help these characters are, and that makes their reliance on each other much more believable.
Is it predictable?
To an extent, yes.
It is a survival film, so you know James and Odin are going to face obstacles. You expect injuries, bad weather, dangerous animals and situations where things get progressively worse.
There are moments where the film probably pushes reality a little bit too far. The wolf sequence, for example, is one where you might find yourself thinking that events would not necessarily play out quite like that in real life.
But it didn't particularly bother me.
Those scenes are there to put James and Odin under pressure and, more importantly, to show them fighting through those situations together. Every new problem strengthens the idea that neither one is simply dragging the other along. They are helping each other survive.
So yes, some parts are predictable, but I'd describe it as pleasantly predictable rather than frustratingly so.
And by the end, things didn't unfold entirely the way I expected either.
More than a film about a man and his dog
I think that is probably the biggest compliment I can give Heart of the Beast.
I went into it thinking I was watching a film about Brad Pitt and a dog.
I came out feeling like I had watched a story about companionship, trauma, survival and two characters who understand each other because both have been through something.
It also happens to be set against some absolutely beautiful scenery.
This still isn't the sort of film I would normally pick first, which is perhaps why it surprised me as much as it did. I'm very glad I had the opportunity to watch it.
And if you are looking at Heart of the Beast and thinking, "I'm not really interested in a dog film", I'd still recommend giving it a chance.
Because it isn't really a dog film.
It's a story about two damaged companions trying to find their way home.