As mental health has become a larger focus within the world over the last decade, movies have typically handled the topic with a serious tone. My Dead Friend Zoe takes more of a comedic approach, but it's still a film that'll force you to question how we treat our loved ones, how we handle traumas in our own way, and how hard it can be to move forward in life.
The film follows Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) who is struggling to adjust back into civilian life after serving in the U.S. Army. Merit has recently gotten into legal trouble, has a distant relationship with her mother, and has become stagnant and can't seem to find her purpose in life.
Alongside Merit is her friend Zoe (Natalie Morales) who we know is dead based on the title, but still plays a huge role in moving the film forward and helps us understand why Merit has turned into a broken version of her previous self. Although both actresses have mainly been on TV shows since beginning their careers, both performances prove they can handle the responsibilities of being lead characters in a great movie.
The chemistry between both women is noticeable from the start of the film, and it leads to numerous fun and lighthearted moments throughout the movie. On the other hand, the pain we can see on Zoe as she loses touch with Merit after leaving the service is hard to watch. It puts a heavy focus on the struggle we face watching our friends move forward without us, but also the dynamics between a co-dependent friendship.
Both women are backed by performances by Ed Harris (Dale) who is Merit's grandfather and has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Morgan Freeman (Dr. Cole) who serves as a group therapist that Merit is forced to see as part of her legal troubles.
Harris' performance showcases that the writers and director took time to research Alzheimer's and didn't include it just to move the plot forward. As Harris seemingly moves between coherency and confusion, it leaves us to question how we treat our loved ones as they age and how long we let them make their own choices in life. It's a painful conversation throughout the movie, but also something that countless people have to face every day in the real world.
Although Freeman plays a much smaller role in the film, he serves as a mentor towards Merit and helps her come to the realization that it is okay to talk about our traumas. Although Merit may never be fully whole again after losing both Zoe and her grandmother, the end of the film showcases that things can get better, even if it's just in small increments.
The film also serves as Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' directorial debut and it's clear that his time serving in the military helped him not only show respect for our current and past military members, but also helped him highlight the struggles veterans face after coming back to the states. This is a topic covered in numerous movies throughout cinema, but his experience clearly helped him understand it in a better way than most.
We see the constant battle Merit faces of wanting to talk to Zoe about post-Army life, but also realizing that her future may be very different than Zoe. Most members of the military face an unknown future after coming back to the States, and the film does a good job of balancing the acknowledgement of that while also recognizing that some people come home to happy families, find good jobs, and are able to make the transition seamless.
It would have been easy for a movie that covers such heavy topics to become overly serious or fall apart under the weight of trying to tell a good story while treating those issues with respect. Fortunately, Hausmann-Stokes, Morales, and Martin-Green balanced the storytelling, comedic aspects, and performances well and is one of my favorite movies of the year so far.
My Dead Friend Zoe is now playing in theaters.