Brad Pitt and a mighty German shepherd make a great screen pair in Heart of the Beast, a movie about one of the greatest subjects ever: a dog.
That dog is Odin, played by a German shepherd named Uber, and his three sons. (While Uber does much of the sensitive face-acting in the movie, his sons do his stunts for him.) This dog and his kiddos make for a terrific canine ensemble in a film where they actually outshine Pitt, who is giving it his all.
An excursion in the Alaskan wilderness goes dreadfully awry when retired military man James Belmont (Pitt) suffers a heart attack while piloting himself and Odin out of a storm. The plane crashes, and James and Odin endure a hellish blend of natural obstacles.
Director David Ayer gets typically solid work out of Pitt, who gives one of the more physically demanding performances of his career—and Pitt has a natural, heartfelt camaraderie with Uber. I’m guessing his scenes with that wonderful pooch in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood might’ve moved him in the direction of doing a dog-centric movie.
The real star of the movie is Uber. Whether he’s calmly staring down a grizzly or suffering a PTSD dream (his character was a mission dog with James in U.S. military actions), Uber totally rocks. It stands as one of cinema history’s greatest canine performances, up there with the mighty Toto and that beagle from The Royal Tenenbaums.
Be forewarned: The film is a bit of a grueling experience and might be a bit much for the little ones in your family.
