Brad Pitt’s New Dog Movie Will Make Men Everywhere Cry—Hard

Scott Garfield There’s a certain breed of movie—think Field of Dreams , The Shawshank Redemption , and Good Will Hunting —that boasts a rugged earnestness that brings men to tears and earns them a place in dude-cinema history.

Heart of the Beast just might be the platonic ideal, pairing Brad Pitt and a German Shepherd in a tale of endurance, sacrifice, loyalty, and love.

Mixing manliness and sensitivity, it’s a survivalist adventure that won’t make anyone forget Jack London but may, by its conclusion, compel bros to reach for the nearest box of Kleenex.

“Somewhere in Alaska,” a woman driving along a rural road encounters an abandoned pooch in a camouflage vest.

Flashing back one week, Heart of the Beast reveals the animal’s identity to be Odin, the beloved partner of James Belmont (Pitt), with whom he’s traveling in a prop plane through the snowy mountain wilderness.

His head on James’ lap, Odin gazes up at his master with the deepest of affection.

After landing and setting up camp on the rocky shore, James shows he feels the same about the dog, laughing and joking as they pitch a tent and play in nearby fields.

With a beard that’s graying at the chin, arms covered in tats, and a baseball cap covering his closely shorn hair, James strikes a military-veteran pose, and his joyous time having Odin attack his protective guard-covered arm indicates that the canine served alongside him in the special forces.

At night, Odin awakens from nightmares about their Iraq tours, and along with his prosthetic leg, it becomes apparent that he’s seen his fair share of Hell.

Spending time in the middle of nowhere is an obvious sign that James has as well, and that the two have retreated to the untamed world to escape (and cope with) their demons.

Thus, James isn’t thrilled when they’re greeted by a stranger (J.K.

Simmons).

Nonetheless, during an evening together, Simmons’ wanderer proves himself a kindred spirit to the duo, and the beers and laughs they enjoy are underscored by mutual understanding and respect for the traumas that drive people to venture into perilously remote places.

Director David Ayer ( Harsh Times , Suicide Squad ) has always been most comfortable in macho territory, and with Heart of the Beast —his second collaboration with Pitt following 2014’s Fury —he tones down the aggro bluster for a quieter and more contemplative portrait of male camaraderie.