by Gill Pringle at San Sebastian Film Festival
“Listen, spending a day with a dog just makes things a little better . . .” says Brad Pitt, 62, no stranger to the comforts a canine companion can offer when all the humans in your life have abandoned you.
With three dogs of his own, Pitt easily found a connection with his latest co-star – a German Shepherd named Uber – while filming David Ayer’s action adventure, Heart of the Beast.
The film sees Pitt’s retired Special Forces officer James Belmont and his combat dog, Odin, stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness after a harrowing plane crash.
With New Zealand doubling for Alaska, the film explores the unbreakable bond between a man and his best friend as they fight for survival against the brutal elements.
“In our film, James and Odin are both extremely capable creatures. They’ve been trained. They’ve been hardened. They’ve been proven. But it was more about their bond between each other like in the same way we would fight more for another than we would even for ourselves,” says Pitt talking at the 74th edition of the San Sebastián Film Festival.
“And that kind of care and love and loyalty keeps them both going in our film. And I think that’s also true to life. When I think of the darker days, and certainly my close relationships, that I rely heavily on friends, dear close friends, a handful of close family,” he reflects.
“And in that, being able to be that free with people who love you and who’ve got you back and you love back – it’s everything,” says the star.
Working with a dog in the great outdoors was a life-affirming experience. “The survivalists [on set] would tell us that it’s all about little wins. You’re going to suffer losses. You’re going to suffer pain, but it’s just getting to the next little win. And so, I thought that equated to life in that way, in the sense of – when we are struggling and going through many challenges – just getting to that next little win, not thinking about the big picture, just that next little win, finding a bite to eat, are the real moments in the film.
“So, working with a dog was really kind of beautiful. Really, I mean, we’re out in this beautiful location. Okay, we’re wet. We’re cold. 12 hours a day. We don’t have trailers. We’re sitting out on logs, but everyone’s up for the task. And being out there with this beautiful beast was pretty special,” he says.
And while we all love our four-legged friends, Pitt appreciates that they are no substitute for human companionship. “What else are we here for? You know, other than to connect and take care of each other and make each other better,” he says.
“The human struggle is real, you know? It’s a challenge, and it’s an obstacle course, and we need each other. We can’t do it alone,” says Pitt.
If comedian WC Fields once famously said: Never work with children or animals, then Pitt knew going in that there would be difficult days.
“But then there were days that just amazed us. I mean, we had a short time to shoot this film, so we decided on a plan of attack and David [Ayer] set forth; rain or shine. That’s going to colour the scene. We’re going to shoot that. And so, whatever the dog does, we’re going to follow it!
“Some days it was just incredible. And I did have a really moving experience with Uber, who plays Odin, who our dog whisperer found in New Zealand, and we bonded quite quickly.
“And we tried to make every day a play day for him. There were times he could do things that were just amazing that were not in the script that you see in the film, and his expression really moved me – with him in a close-up.
“But at the same time, there are days when the bees are buzzing and possums coming down the hill, and things are just much more interesting in the woods than what’s going on here with his co-star. So, I had to be pretty adept at being actor-dog trainer in the middle of the scene,” he smiles.
Ayer – who had previously directly Pitt in Fury – was meticulous about getting it right. “David brought in many experts to help us set the direction for the film including a survivalist military canine specialist medic,” says Pitt.
“We also learned bushcraft but a lot of what they talked about dealing with the combat canines, is how they would try to make it fun for them, and how the dogs were integrated in the unit. They were part of the family, and every day was fun.
“So, we tried to do the same thing, and we’d roll up on set at six in the morning, and there is one of our dog whisperers just playing catch with Uber, and it was just such a beautiful sight in the field,” says the actor who was not afraid to be upstaged by Uber who was first on the call sheet and had his own trailer plus hair, make-up and wardrobe.
On the surface, Heart of the Beast is a survival movie, but it is also a love story between man and beast who, after retiring from the military together, are at the beginning of what should be their golden years.
“But both of them carry the war with them,” says Pitt. “They encounter great struggles on this journey, but it’s their bond that keeps them fighting and moving forward. Odin suffers from his own PTSD from the experiences of the war, which is a really heavy and beautiful idea that I think the film explores pretty well.”
Growing up in the Ozarks, Pitt spent a lot of time in the woods and lakes, still finding comfort in the outdoors, declaring how New Zealand has some of the most beautiful countryside he has ever seen. It’s staggering. These deep enchanted forests with moss and amazing trees, these rock formations and rivers, and then we got up on the glaciers, and it was stunning… the wilderness is certainly a character in this movie. It shapes and colours the entire experience, and we were definitely at its mercy,” says the actor who hopes the film carries a message of love and unity as much as its intense action drama.
“And for me personally, I sure think we could spend more time on where we are the same, which is most of it is 98% of the argument really – on what binds and connects us, than I think we can listen better for some of these divisional lines.
“So maybe we just start taking care of the people that are around us and making sure they’re okay. If everyone did that, I’d say that’s a good place to start,” concludes Pitt who is presently considering a potential reunion with George Clooney for Ocean’s 14.
Heart of the Beast is in cinemas now
Main Photo by Inaki Luis at San Sebastian Film Festival
