Edward is a dog, a sad-eyed but otherwise lively Welsh corgi. When he is upset he makes trouble of a colorful, forgivable kind. Macon Leary (William Hurt) is his master, also sad-eyed, but with no redeeming manners or habits. Early in this lugubrious recounting of his struggle against clinical depression, one begins counting the minutes between dog cutaways. By the end, one is praying for them.
This is not to say that Macon's gloom is without just cause. A year before The Accidental Tourist begins, his beloved son has been killed in a particularly senseless crime. As the film opens, his...