Dear Zoe

Dear Zoe is a poignant coming-of-age drama that explores grief, guilt, and emotional healing through the eyes of a teenage girl. Based on the novel by Philip Beard, the film centers on Tess DeNunzio (Sadie Sink), a 16-year-old grappling with the tragic death of her younger sister, Zoe, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on the same day as the September 11 attacks.

Consumed by guilt and resentment, Tess feels emotionally abandoned by her mother and stepfather, who seem unable to confront the trauma directly. Seeking escape, Tess runs away to live with her estranged biological father, Nick (Theo Rossi), a small-time marijuana dealer with a complicated past. Though he's far from a model parent, Nick offers Tess an unconventional kind of comfort-one rooted in honesty and shared pain.

As Tess adjusts to her new environment, she forms a connection with a quiet, artistic neighbor named Jimmy (Kweku Collins), who encourages her to confront her grief and embrace vulnerability. Through their growing relationship, Tess slowly begins to find her voice and reframe her understanding of love and loss.

The film is driven by Sadie Sink's raw and empathetic performance, capturing Tess's inner turmoil and search for meaning. Dear Zoe does not dwell on melodrama; instead, it offers a grounded and intimate portrait of a teenager navigating the emotional aftermath of tragedy. It also underscores the different ways people process grief-some with silence, some with anger, and some by running away.

Ultimately, Dear Zoe is a meditation on healing, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of family, reminding viewers that even in moments of deep sorrow, there is still room for growth, connection, and hope. Quiet yet powerful, the film resonates with emotional authenticity.

Review written by artist jayakumar jrain.

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"Dear Zoe explores the grieving process with sweet messages, but in addition to being extremely generic, Gren Wells makes questionable creative decisions that remove emotional impact from the narration-dependent narrative. Typical film that's worth watching more for the extraordinary performances of the cast than for the formulaic screenplay.

Kweku Collins impresses on his debut, Theo Rossi demonstrates his underrated range, and Sadie Sink continues to prove why she's one of the most fascinating, talented actresses of her generation."

Rating: C.

Sadie Sink inhabits the character of Tess, a teenaged girl going through a difficult transition in her life. A horrible accident upends her normal existence and shatters her family on the exact same day America experiences the shock and terror of the 9/11 attacks. Theo Rossi ("Emily the Criminal") also does good work as Tess's father in what could have been a cliched role if a lesser actor had played it. Newcomer Kweku Collins is also fine as a very (un)stereotypical boy-next-door and he and Sink display good and interesting chemistry in their scenes together.

A word about the cinematography in this low budget indie and the word is beautiful. Most independent films simply don't look as nice as this one does. There's a great physical sense of Pittsburgh and its surroundings and I like how the enhanced visuals reflect Tess's heightened awareness during this intense time in her life.

Dear Zoe has both heft and heart and it reveals important truths about both grief and guilt, and how we have to come to terms with these feelings in order to move on with our lives.

Which is a GOOD thing, if you are a young actress with a long career stretching ahead of you. I am honest in all my reviews, and this one is no different. I watched mainly because, as a fan of Stranger Things, I wanted to see if she had the acting chops to carry a film on her own? She does. This young lady has the look and the talent to become an A-lister. But here is the kicker. A lot of viewers will be drawn to Dear Zoe for the exact same reason I was, figuring that if the film is any good, that is just a bonus. The film, the story, is somewhere between average and below-average. About bad choices made by young people. This particular lead actress, on the other hand, has only good choices ahead of her. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Great movie. I really enjoyed and loved every second of it. Sadie Sink and Theo Rossi did an amazing job. It's really interesting the way they pulled out this story to be the way it should be told. What I mean by that is that they told a very uncomfortable story in very light way without making it hard to be watched or without making it to be something it shouldn't be. We don't have that much stories that are close to this one and that are made by really good actors. Nowadays we only have some sci-fi movies which are not connected to reality or the movies where we see way too much romance. For me this is the movie which should be an example for more movies to be made like this and on similar topics.