I’m going to start today by asking for a show of hands. Who here has seen a film where the twist ending was one of the characters was secretly dead the whole time? OK, keep them up. One, two — hey you on your phone, are you raising your hand or saying hi to somebody? OK, that’s three … roughly three hundred million! Great!
“My Dead Friend Zoe” is not one of those movies. Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ debut feature stars Sonequa Martin-Green (“Star Trek: Discovery”) as Merit, an Army veteran struggling with PTSD. Her best friend Zoe — spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t read the title — is dead, but still with Merit at all times. She’s played by Natalie Morales (“No Hard Feelings”) and despite the whole “being dead” thing she’s actually quite lively, providing a running commentary on Merit’s life and anxieties.
The film reveals Zoe is only in Merit’s head during the first few scenes, because it’s not about surprising the audience. (And considering how common that particular twist is, it wouldn’t be a surprise anyway.) It’s about making us live with Merit’s plight on a daily basis, understanding what she’s running from and why she’s running into the past, where all her regrets are. Hausmann-Stokes isn’t screwing with us, he’s being as direct as possible.
Merit refuses to open up in group therapy, led by Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman). Zoe doesn’t want her to anyway. When Merit finds out her grandfather Dale (Ed Harris) is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, she packs up Zoe and drives to his lake house. Dale is a wonderful old man when he’s not a curmudgeonly old fart, but his problems are spiraling out of his control and Merit, spiraling herself, isn’t much of a caretaker.
There are lots of stories about the experiences of American veterans. Some of the more famous ones involve the search for brazen and violent catharsis. “My Dead Friend Zoe” is the sensitive, downplayed variety, a tender character piece about people and their complicated feelings. As directed by Hausmann-Stokes, who co-wrote the script with A.J. Bermudez, the film seems genuinely sensitive to the stories of its characters and anyone in the audience who can relate to their struggles.
The film also seems padded within an inch of its life, displaying the unmistakable plumage of a short film adapted to feature length long before you check Wikipedia and confirm that yes, indeed it was. The narrative has just enough incident to fill 15-20 minutes and yet it runs for 98 of them. Merit’s relationship with Dr. Cole has a set-up and a payoff and nearly nothing in between. Her flashbacks to the war, when Zoe was still alive, hints at twists and reversals, or at least something that resembles external conflict, but that road leads to nowhere. Which is ultimately revealed to be the point, granted, but a long commute is a long commute no matter where you end up.
There are worse things a movie can be besides padded, and “My Dead Friend Zoe” isn’t any of those things. Its heart is in the right place, its characters feel real (even when they’re literally not), and for anyone to whom this story rings a bell, it’s a tearjerker. Martin-Green excels at navigating emotional whirlpools and carries the film with dignity. Morales embodies a playful, jealous imp in Merit’s brain and a complex, conflicted, extremely human being in the flashbacks. Harris, having no narrative contrivance to contend with, is simply exceptional as an old man realizing that he needs help, as much as it pains him and pisses him off.
“My Dead Friend Zoe” is a noble film, seemingly honest and open. It’s not a terribly exciting one, and it struggles to justify its modest length, but plot isn’t everything. It’s a great way to engage the audience long enough to convey all your noble ideas, but Hausmann-Stokes’ characters are almost fascinating enough on their own. Not quite, but almost. A great cast can take you far. Today they took “My Dead Friend Zoe” over the line, from “good intentions” to “good movie.”
