A new featurette for “Heart of the Beast,” the upcoming survival thriller starring Brad Pitt, highlights the film’s biblical themes of faith, sacrifice, unconditional love and perseverance, drawing parallels between its story and Psalm 23. The Paramount Pictures film, directed by David Ayer, opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. Pitt stars as James Belmont, a former U.S.
Army Special Forces officer who becomes stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his retired combat dog, Odin, following a plane crash. Their fight for survival forces James to confront the emotional wounds of his military service while relying on his bond with Odin.
The featurette connects James’ journey through the wilderness with Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” The Alaskan wilderness becomes both a physical threat and the setting for themes of fear, courage, trust and hope as James and Odin, who also struggles with PTSD-related nightmares, repeatedly fight for one another’s survival.
Ayer, a Christian whose films frequently explore sacrifice and redemption, previously told The Christian Post that his faith informed his understanding of James’ journey. “When you surrender to something outside of yourself, when you have faith, you can endure anything, really,” Ayer said. The filmmaker also pointed to the spiritual significance of James being stripped of ordinary comforts and forced to confront himself in nature.
Although James possesses the practical skills necessary to survive, Ayer said his greatest strength comes from within. “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,” Ayer said.