There’s a reason My Dead Friend Zoe (2024) has a 100% from Rotten Tomatoes: The dark comedy is brutally heart-breaking and tragically heart-warming all at once. The acting and directing are absolutely fantastic and the story is nothing short of extraordinary.
My Dead Friend Zoe follows Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) as she navigates life after the army and a deployment in Afghanistan. She’s in court-ordered group therapy, she has to take care of her estranged grandfather, a Vietnam veteran with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and her best friend, Zoe, is following her around.
But Zoe, played by Natalie Morales, is dead and Merit has not come to terms with that. As Zoe follows Merit, the dysfunctional, and at times toxic, friendship is getting in the way of Merit moving on.
It is only until she reforms her relationship with her grandfather, played by Ed Harris, and is taken aback by an unexpected love interest (Utkarsh Umbudkar), that she can interrogate why her emotions have taken control.
Every major character in My Dead Friend Zoe brings a kick-ass performance.
Morales is funny, exuding personality and outgoingness. She has laugh-out-loud lines, reminding you that it’s ok to deal with grief the way that you need to. Zoe is erratic and independent and at times, you wonder how it is that she joined the army. When Zoe is intense, Morales brings it and when Zoe is there to break the tension, Morales’ comedic timing is gold.
Merit’s grandfather is a force. He’s the reason Merit joined the army in the first place and it’s clear why she admires him so deeply. He is strong, resilient, and as grumpy as any grandpa can be. But he is sweet to Merit and tells her what she needs to hear, even when she doesn’t want to. Harris charges Dale’s character with a livelihood that only the veteran actor could bring.
Umbudkar as Alex is one of the most beautiful parts of the film. He comes into Merit’s life when she seems to need it most and expect it least. His personality seems to mirror Zoe’s; he’s funny, brings brevity and lightness, while standing as a rock for Merit. But when some of Zoe’s stubbornness clouds her relationship with Merit, Alex is what she needs. He’s kind and caring, one of the first people telling Merit that it’s okay to talk about the hard stuff; that it could help. While Umbudkar typically plays similar goofball-like, silly characters, there’s an added element of caring on his part in this role as Alex that works splendidly.
Dr. Cole, the leader of the group therapy Merit is required to attend, is played by Morgan Freeman. There are high expectations for him and he absolutely delivers. Similar to Alex, Dr. Cole pushes when Merit needs it and listens to her when she needs that too. Freeman brings the kind and caring nature that an older, familiar face is guaranteed to bring. During the end credits, a picture of Freeman in his own military uniform as a young man is included— clearly this movie is personal for him as well.
And then there’s Sonequa Martin-Green. Her performance is absolutely fantastic. She takes the anxiety, fear, and isolation Merit has and infuses it with the power of her performance. Though in a few instances Martin-Green feels a bit stiff, that stiffness adds to Merit’s character; she’s trying so hard to keep it all together, to, “suck it up,” as her grandfather tells her to do, how could she be anything but stiff?
Martin-Green’s performance is helped by the talents of director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes. This is his directorial debut, based on his short-film Merit X Zoe (2022) and the story is based on two of his platoonmates, Luis Ramirez-Jimenez and Boris Ventura. The love, caring, and personal connection to the subject is clear in how the movie was put together.
My Dead Friend Zoe pairs Merit’s life with flashes of the past and flashes of Zoe in her mind’s eye and the grief and relief without her there. The flashes of the past are paired with sound, lights, and visuals to mimic how Merit feels in the moment, allowing the audience to step into her shoes for a few moments. When Zoe is in the room with Merit, her personality radiates, making it clear how hard it is for Merit to pretend she isn’t there. When Zoe isn’t around, it’s clear too; one moment she’s there, talking Merit’s ear off, making fun of something, the next moment she’s not and Merit can try to be in the moment.
However, there were a few moments in which the film moved slowly, setting up Zoe and Merit’s relationship, setting up how Merit’s grandfather felt about himself and what was happening to him, and setting up the grief involved in the story. But the slower parts of the film pay off towards the end of the movie, in beautiful ways.
Overall, the acting, directing, and story are compellingly beautiful, even while dealing with grief, survivor’s guilt, veteran’s experiences, and suicide.
My Dead Friend Zoe premiered at the South By Southwest film festival and was awarded the Audience Award. The film will debut in theaters on February 28.
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