FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Director David Ayer shared how his Christian faith shaped the themes of sacrifice and redemption at the heart of his new film “Heart of the Beast” and reflected on how an orientation toward God can provide direction in a culture increasingly struggling to find meaning.
“When you surrender to something outside of yourself, when you have faith, you can endure anything, really,” Ayer told The Christian Post.
The 58-year-old filmmaker, whose work frequently wrestles with brokenness, violence and redemption, said faith informed his approach to the story of James Belmont, a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer played by Brad Pitt who carries the emotional wounds of his military service into the wilderness alongside his retired combat dog, Odin.
“I feel we’re lacking meaning right now in society,” Ayer said. “And there’s a lot of confusing messaging, and a lot of things that traditionally have helped people live lives are kind of being deconstructed.”
“If you’re oriented towards God, you’re always going to know the way in any given situation,” he continued. “Within Scripture, it’s very clear you will be forgiven when you fall if you ask. All you have to do is ask.”
This belief is woven throughout “Heart of the Beast,” Ayer said, particularly in James’ determination to keep moving despite grief, physical suffering and the weight of people he was unable to save, which viewers see through a series of flashbacks. The film, hitting theaters on Sept. 25, is rated PG-13 by the MPA for violence, peril, bloody/injury images and some language.
The film, which also stars J.K. Simmons, reunites Ayer with Pitt, whom he previously directed in the 2014 World War II drama “Fury.” In “Heart of the Beast,” James and Odin (played by Uber and his four pups) become stranded in the wilderness, where their fight for survival forces them to rely on each other while confronting the lingering effects of their military service.
“I think it’s a bit of a study into unconditional love and selfless love and selfless sacrifice,” Ayer said of the film. “When you have love for someone, true love, you’re constantly saving each other. You’re constantly rescuing each other.”
“Odin witnesses, he sees, he feels, he has thoughts. He can be a little sarcastic. He can have fun. He can get sad,” Ayer said. “It’s really about the power that love gives us to endure, to move forward.”
The film also examines the emotional toll of military service as James wrestles with memories of friends he was unable to save, while Odin struggles with PTSD and nightmares from his time in the service.
Ayer reflected on how his research and conversations with members of the special operations community deepened his understanding of the sacrifices made by those who serve. One of the most difficult burdens many service people bear, Ayer said, is guilt associated with being unable to save someone.
“Service comes with a price, and the people that keep us safe pay an immense emotional cost for what they do,” he said. “These are people that, you know, they run into the burning building to protect society. They go downrange. They face danger to protect us, and the dogs too.”
“It’s those failures to save, it’s those failures to protect that really, I think, can become a burden,” he added. “So, [James is] absolutely determined not to lose Odin. He’s going to get Odin safe no matter what.”
Members of the special operations community spoke with Pitt and offered insights into leadership and how military service can change a person. Ayer said he wanted service members to recognize themselves in the film and potentially use it to help their loved ones better understand their experiences.
“I wanted a film where people who serve could show their friends, show their family, show their children what they do,” he said. “A little insight into: This is how I think, this is how I feel, and this is a little bit of what’s in my heart. … There’s a lot of normal life that they don’t participate in.”
Because much of the work performed by special operations forces happens in secrecy, he said, families can live with uncertainty about where their loved ones are going and whether they will return.
“How do you say goodbye to your partner, and you don’t know if you’re going to see them again?” Ayer said. “Every goodbye becomes an incredibly powerful moment. … It’s important for us as a community and as a society to honor that,” Ayer said, “and allow them to unburden those things.”
The wilderness setting of “Heart of the Beast” also carries spiritual significance for Ayer: much of the film, shot in the Otago and Fiordland regions on New Zealand’s South Island, features Pitt and a dog in the wilderness. Ayer said that as James is stripped of the comforts and distractions of ordinary life, he is forced to rely not only on his survival skills but on “spiritual endurance.”
“You see it again and again in Scripture of how the natural world, being alone in it and facing our inner life, can bring a kind of peace, a kind of revelation of self,” he said. “The only reason he’s able to do that is what’s in his heart, and that he has spiritual endurance. He knows where he is going in the end. He never loses sight of that.”
Ayer pointed to James repeatedly stumbling and getting back up as the elements continue to wear him down as an illustration of the film’s larger message.
“That’s how we have to be in our lives,” he said. “When we fall, we have to get up again, and stay heart-oriented, and keep moving towards that light. … There’s something about that philosophy of, like, when you’re going through it, just keep going through it. Don’t seek material comfort when the real issue is in your own ability to face the challenges of the moment.”
“Stay in the moment, face the challenges,” he added. “Don’t shy away from it.”
Ultimately, Ayer said, “Heart of the Beast” reflects his belief that virtue, perseverance, faith and sacrificial love can orient people toward something greater than themselves.
“I’m a big believer in virtue as the way of life, a way of being that allows something larger than ourselves to enter us and work through us,” he said.
Ayer said he witnessed those qualities in members of the special operations community, citing “their loyalty to the nation, their loyalty to us, their loyalty to protect us” and their commitment to values beyond themselves.
“There’s so much power in that,” he said. “When you have love for someone, true love, you’re constantly saving each other. You’re constantly rescuing each other.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
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