‘Heart of the Beast’ Knows No Resistance

Before I discuss Heart of the Beast starring Brad Pitt and an uncommonly expressive dog named Odin, I need to tell you the story of a dog named Burro. 

A little over three years ago, my wife and I were in Mexico. We trekked over to a hopping area of Puerto Vallarta known as the Malecon. As we took our time visiting shops and thinking about where to eat, a white-and-brown bulldog/pitbull-looking creature ran by us. He had no collar and no person. We followed over to an ATM. A kind person stepped out of the bank and offered him a tray of water. He did not accept it. It didn’t take long to realize something was wrong with him. He was disoriented and in distress. 

We decided to help him. We located the nearest vet and talked him into walking with us. Considering he was a strange dog, we wanted to be careful about touching him. No one wants to get bitten by a stray dog. The first vet was closing up and unwilling to see him. The same was true of the second and third vets. We were told another vet kept later hours three blocks away. But by then, the little guy had run out of steam. He could no longer follow. So, I carried him. He was filthy and buggy, and it was 95 very humid degrees out, but I had no other choice I could live with. 

When we finally made it to his last option, we half expected the veterinarian to say nothing more could be done. As it turned out, minor issues aside, he was just badly dehydrated. “He just needs the right person,” the vet said. My wife and I looked at each other and said, “Okay.” We then snuck him into the condo we were staying at and kept him until we could give him a permanent home. That home turned out to be ours. I named him “Burro.” Why Burro? Because I knew he had seen hard times, just like that donkey in Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, and Balthazar seemed like too much name for a dog. 

Just a few weeks later, after making a remarkable recovery, I was walking him through town when an off-leash dog attacked us. Burro (who had no front teeth) attempted to fight off an ill-tempered terrier. I pulled him away, but not before he was bitten on his backside. With the help of a couple of locals, I fought the dog off. Back to the veterinarian we went. When I got him inside, they saw him immediately. Then the veterinarian looked at me and said, you may want to go into the bathroom and clean up. What?, I said. She replied, “Your arm.” I had been bitten on the arm. I didn’t even know. After Burro was sorted out, it was time for me to go to the ER.

Thankfully, both of us suffered minor wounds that healed without any significant treatment. Regardless, I do not regret my actions. Burro is worth it. I share this preamble in full disclosure. All ye going for a fully objective review of this movie can abandon hope at the end of this paragraph.

Now, onto Heart of the Beast. Directed by David Ayer, who has made some good films (Training Day, End of Watch, Fury) and some pretty awful ones (Suicide Squad, Sabotage, Bright). I’m glad to say Heart of the Beast falls into the former category. Reuniting with his Fury star, Brad Pitt, he tells a deceptively simple story. The plot is not hard to follow. A boy (Pitt) and his dog, Odin, head into an isolated part of Alaska, wreck their plane, and then have to soldier through miserable weather and terrain, injuries, and predators in the form of a grizzly bear and a pack of wolves. The film never explains the reason for this “vacation,” of sorts. But it’s easy to see why two creatures who have seen the worst of humanity would go somewhere they are unlikely to encounter any humans.

Pitt plays James, a retired special forces soldier who has brought his combat dog home from the Middle East. Both have been injured in action. James has damage to his left side, and Odin has a prosthetic leg and titanium teeth implants. But their scars aren’t limited to the outside; they run deeper, still. Sleeping peacefully is no easy lift for either of them. Suffering from PTSD, the horrors of war can come back at any time. One evening, Odin has a flashback that interrupts his slumber. He wakes up frightened, barking, and ready to defend. I’ve seen this before. Burro will sometimes wake in fright. While I don’t know what trials his brain is recalling, I recognized the accuracy of the depiction. It hurt. The film’s complexity lies less in what it tells than in the emotions of these two bonded animals—one human, one canine. 

You could call Heart of the Beast a love story. You could call it a hero’s story. Or you could simply call it a survival movie. The truth is it’s all those things. Ayer directs the film with rugged brio—this is no Disney film, but there are moments of beauty. I won’t soon forget one shot of the aurora borealis reflected in Odin’s eye. 

But at the end of the day, everything hinges on the man and the dog. Pitt is incredibly well-suited to this role. Despite his movie-star status, Pitt has always presented as a no-bullshit performer in dramas. Maybe there’s something in his Oklahoma roots that makes him so believable in a man vs. wild scenario. More importantly, his affection for the dog is eminently convincing. The dialogue is sparse, but Pitt needs little more than his eyes to convey how he feels about Odin.

Even so, Pitt is at times upstaged by his German shepherd co-star. Despite a couple of battle scars, Odin could not be more handsome. In fact, it takes a lot to make Brad Pitt the second best-looking character on screen. Apparently, it takes a dog. This dog. Through every trial and travail they face, there is never a moment you don’t believe that Odin is tethered by an invisible string to his person. A person who would risk everything to keep his dog safe, and a dog willing to return the favor. 

I won’t kid you, Heart of the Beast is a tough movie with a mixed ending. But it earns its ending. Good luck keeping your eyes dry. While I don’t think you need to be a dog lover to enjoy Heart of the Beast, I do think it will help. 

Me? I love dogs. And I love this movie.