The human-canine bond is a special one. For many, dogs are considered a loyal companion and friend, one that remains by your side for the duration of their natural-born lives. It’s a cross-species relationship that has been explored on the silver screen ten times over, often resulting in tear-jerking moments of drama in the likes of Marley & Me and, to a lesser extent, Will Smith’s apocalyptic vehicle I Am Legend.
One filmmaker that is ready to cast light on that human-canine bond is Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish), who’s at the helm of true-life drama Megan Leavey. Pegged for a release in June, the wartime pic places Kate Mara (House of Cards, Fantastic Four) in the boots of the titular marine corporal, who’s assigned to the military’s K9 unit. While there, Mara’s lead becomes drawn to Rex, an overly aggressive German Shepherd able to sniff out an IED with remarkable accuracy. The story then focuses on the pair’s friendship across a series of tense, nail-biting military missions and below, you’ll find the official logline for Megan Leavey:
Megan Leavey is based on the true-life story of a young marine corporal (Kate Mara) whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. When she is assigned to clean up the K9 unit after a disciplinary hearing, Leavey identifies with a particularly aggressive dog, Rex, and is given the chance to train him. Over the course of their service, Megan and Rex completed more than 100 missions until an IED explosion injures them, putting their fate in jeopardy.
Also starring Edie Falco, Ramón Rodríguez, Bradley Whitford, and Common, who continues to make in-roads into Hollywood following a role in action sequel John Wick: Chapter 2, Megan Leavey premieres on June 9th. Let’s just hope it fares better than Mara’s recent vehicle, Morgan, which ultimately squandered an all-star cast on a half-baked story of technology and artificial consciousness.