Our Friend review (Spring Film Festival)

‘Our Friend’ An Uplifting, Heart-Felt Feature

‘Our Friend’ tells the inspiring and extraordinary true story of the Teague family - journalist Matt, his vibrant wife Nicole and their two young daughters - and how their lives are upended by Nicole’s heartbreaking diagnosis of terminal cancer.

As Matt’s responsibilities as caretaker and parent become increasingly overwhelming, the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheaux offers to come and help out.

As Dane puts his life on hold to say with his friends, the impact of this life altering decision proves greater and more profound than anyone could have imagined.

‘Our Friend’ is an inspiring and compelling feature film that is not to be missed. This incredible film delivers a lot of touching moments that can be really emotional and also very heart-warming.

There are quite a few moments that can be really uplifting. Most of those moments occur during some of the flashback scenes that are set before the wife’s diagnosis. The tear-jerking moments really kick up a notch once the cancer is coming to its end. And, the incredible performances from Dakota Johnson, Jason Segel and Casey Affleck really helps make all the emotional and uplifting moments come alive.

So, during the Spring Film Festival, do make sure to check out this captivating drama. Filled with lots of emotion, and even a couple of laughs, this heart-felt feature is not to be missed. And, there are a couple scenes that can be hard to watch - mainly when Nicole’s cancer is getting worse.

The cast: Dakota Johnson (The High Note; The Peanut Butter Falcon) as Nicole Teague; Casey Affleck (The World to Come) as Matt Teague; Jason Segel (AMCs Dispatches from Elsewhere) as Dane Faucheaux; Isabella Kai (Unforgettable) as Molly Teague; Violet McGraw (Doctor Sleep) as Evie Teague; Denee Benton as Charlotte; Gwendoline Christie (The Personal History of David Copperfield) as Teresa; Jake Owen as Aaron; Ahna O’Reilly (Bombshell) as Gale; Marielle Scott (FXs A Teacher) as Kat; John McConnell (Instant Family) as Glenn Hattaway and Cherry Jones (Motherless Brooklyn) as Faith Preutt.

‘Our Friend’ is written by Brad Ingelsby (The Way Back; Out of the Furnace; Run All Night) and based on the article entitled ‘The Friend’ by Matthew Teague and directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Megan Leavey; Blackfish).

The film is based on an Esquire magazine article written by Matthew Teague entitled ‘The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word.’

It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2019. It also was screened at AFI Fest on November 16, 2019.

‘Our Friend’ is rated R for language and has a running time of 124 minutes.

The remaining show dates and times for ‘Our Friend’ are as follows: Wed. April 28 at 2:30, Friday April 30 at 12:00 and Tuesday May 11 at 7:15.