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Heart of the Beast is an intense survival film starring two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in….Hollywood, 12 Years a Slave), as retired U.S. Special Forces military veteran James Belmont. The film was directed by David Ayer, and written by Cameron Alexander.
The film follows Belmont, who lives with his retired combat German Shepherd dog, Odin. The two have travelled to the far reaches of the Alaskan wilderness (the film was actually shot in New Zealand’s South Island), in a pontoon plane. The incredible bond between James and Odin is key to this story.
Both James and Odin are suffering from PTSD. Throughout the film James has flashbacks to when his fellow soldiers were lost in war. Odin too has nightmares.
One of the few characters in the film other than James and Odin is Watkins, played by Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), who spends a day and night with Belmont and Odin. He leaves before daylight and we don’t see him again.
Watkins had told James that a storm was coming. As James and Odin leave their campground, soaring above the water, James has a heart attack and the plane crashes in the water. Somehow he survives and is able to find Odin, who is badly hurt. James and Odin then have to survive until they can reach a road, some fifty miles away.
The film features beautiful landscapes – from lakes and rivers to mountains and forests. This was an intense film that kept our attention, though at times it wasn’t realistic. Pitt was excellent in essentially a one-man-show. The film does include some adult language, including the misuse of God’s name. It also includes an intense fight scene with wolves and war violence in flashbacks.
