THE STORY – After a harrowing plane crash, Special Forces officer James Belmont and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements.
THE CAST – Brad Pitt, J. K. Simmons & Anna Lambe
THE TEAM – David Ayer (Director) & Cameron Alexander (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 101 Minutes
Man vs. nature is a conflict so ingrained in the history of written narrative that it’s been cycled through generations of storytelling. The inherent scenario of pitting our limited abilities as humans against the unpredictability of the earthly world we cannot control has always translated into something inherently cinematic. So it was inevitable that an actor like Brad Pitt, whose filmography has spanned decades, would eventually reach the point in his career where he wanted to make a film like “Heart of the Beast.”
It’s only natural, considering how many Hollywood legends at one point or another have starred in a film of this pedigree, whether it’s Robert Redford or Harrison Ford. At least to Pitt’s chagrin, he’s reuniting with “Fury” director David Ayer, a filmmaker whose brand of down-and-dirty action films has cooled off with each subsequent misfire. Lately, though, Ayer has had a recent string of mid-budget successes, at least financially, with Jason Statham at the helm. Now he has one of the industry’s last true movie stars spearheading his latest outing, but even with Pitt’s presence, the film stays in one gear throughout its runtime.
In “Heart of the Beast,” Pitt plays James Belmont, a former Green Beret, who has abandoned the comforts of modern society to escape to the Alaskan wilderness with his canine companion Odin. The two fly in James’s Cessna, landing at various points to hunt, play, and camp out together. The pair who met overseas have returned home with physical and mental scars from their time in war, but they hope that they will heal together. Of course, nature has a different plan: an unexpected medical episode leads James and Odin to crash-land in the woods, over fifty-eight miles from the nearest road. Together, the pair must brace the elements, ferocious animals, and lack of supplies if they are to make it back to civilization.
“Heart of the Beast” takes a while to get rolling, as Cameron Alexander’s screenplay rightfully takes its time building this dynamic between James and Odin. Understandably, the audience has to be invested in this relationship. Yet little in Ayer’s direction sparks this emotional current besides the adorability of an animal whose prosthetics only make him more awe-inducing. The buildup to the crash that sends James and Odin on this perilous trek for survival is hard to sit through as audiences watch Pitt mumble and chuckle his way through awkward, one-sided dialogue while Ayer cuts to reaction shots of the dog.
The brief glimpses of James and Odin’s time overseas do little to contextualize the trauma they’ve experienced, despite the few moments of Odin’s night terrors and James constantly grasping at his chest from an unknown condition. If anything, these moments, which are cheaply produced on some sound stage, are preserved for the rousing finale montage that leaves the intended demographic for this film more inclined to be in a state of oorah rebel rousing than having some sort of semblance of sentimentality wash over them.
When the central crash occurs, Ayer drives “Heart of the Beast” into a far more watchable gear, turning the disastrous opening into a palatable, if standard, survival flick. James and Odin do the expected tasks of an environmental endurance test, like gathering needed resources or navigating detours that come their way. All of Ayer’s chances of making this film more than what we’ve seen before rest on Pitt’s performance, which wavers at times.
Pitt’s career this decade is fascinating because despite starring in buzzy titles, he hasn’t had a true acting showcase to display the varied performer that he is or maybe was. Since “Babylon,” Pitt’s role choices haven’t truly asked much of the performer, and even a smash hit like “F1” has him coasting on the movie-star charisma that has made him the Hollywood juggernaut he is. At least with “F1,” the ensemble around him propels him to the finish line; here, Pitt is essentially a one-man show, having to tap into acting muscles that feel a bit dormant.
He’s ultimately adequate, delivering a performance that keeps audiences glued to the screen, but it’s a far cry from “Fury,” with Ayer joining the list of talents who ask little of Pitt beyond physical commitment to the role. J.K. Simmons also appears briefly in the first act as Walter Boone, a retired gold miner with a bushy beard, who comes into the fold to hammer home themes Ayer splatters on the surface. Unlike “The Dog Stars,” which sold audiences on the journey of Jacob Elodi’s character and his German Shepard, at least Ayer delivers what was promised.
Technically, there’s nothing to marvel at here. Still, Jared Michael Fry’s third collaboration with Ayer proves fruitful, creating a score that gives “Heart of the Beast” a grandiose sound that underscores most of the action-oriented sequences. Ayer seems to have made a film that encapsulates this new era of pictures from Paramount, and we are bound to see more of it. Inoffensive, family-forward storytelling, and bombarded with American iconography, this is the bread and butter that makes “Heart of the Beast” work, even if its enjoyability is as sporadic as the heart attacks that plague James throughout the film.
