My Dead Friend Zoe

"Think very seriously about whether living in the past is worth it." Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman)

Anyone who has ever lost a close relative or friend can identify immediately the signs of sorrow, be it enhanced by post-traumatic syndrome disorder or just monumental grief. Throw in some gallows humor, and you have an intellectually-rich and entertaining experience.

Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), an ex-GI out of Afghanistan, needs to heed the doctor's advice, for remembrance of her best friend, Zoe (Natalie Morales), from that war haunts her constantly, therefore, the title, My Dead Friend Zoe. The film is a testimony to first-rate filmmaking with a topic that sometimes leads to dark comedy and at others deeply-felt universal angst.

The humor comes mostly from Zoe, often in scenes where she appears only to Merit with gallows humor that might be merited from a dead vet. When she calls Merit's court-ordered group therapy "kumbaya" nonsense and requests watching M*A*S*H again but not as a drinking game, writer/director Kyle Hausmann Stokes (who partially cites his own experience) and co-writer A. J. Bermudez emphasize the personal therapy Zoe applies through sarcasm and disrespect, a regimen Merit accepts no more than therapy and the doctor's wisdom.

A change agent is Merit's Vietnam vet uncle Dale (Ed Harris), a no-nonsense, retired-Lt.-Colonel also on the downslide from early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Both need each other to become whole, but this change does not happen easily or early. The slow pace of the film matches the slow pace of both heroes' rehab.

Like his broken birdfeeder and the war machines she repaired in the service, rehab is the dominant motif, where even the minor characters, like Merit's potential love interest, Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who discovers her amid the restrictive social world of his family-owned retirement home. While her family's lake house in Oregon is the perfect place Zoe characterizes as starter for a horror film, it turns out to be a heavenly spot to grow, sans the distractions of modern displacements.

My Dead Friend Zoe is an enjoyable start to the post-Oscars season-let's hope for more elegant small films like it in the next few months.

These are the kind of thoughtful movies that are now shoved aside by blockbuster franchises and empty tripe like Mickey 17. Sonequa Martin- Green is an Army veteran still speaking to her dead friend Natalie Morales for unspecified reasons while dealing with the early onset Alzheimer's of her grandfather (Ed Harris). The film meanders, and a possible romance with a jovial nursing home worker doesn't really amount to anything, but the film has important things to say about issues plaguing our country's veterans, and with Trump trying to erase all evidence of women in uniform, Green appearing in khakis is a powerful statement unto itself. A movie that will stay with you.

Merit is a female Afghanistan veteran, back home in Oregon. As the movie begins we see flashback scenes which included her and her close friend Zoe deployed. But we soon realize that Zoe is dead yet in many scenes we see her, representing Merit's inability to get past all that.

Ed Harris does a good turn as Merit's elderly granddad, living in his long-time home on a small lake. Merit's mom, the man's daughter, is thinking that he might be developing dementia and she is actively trying to get him into an assisted living facility. Merit will play a pivotal role in resolving the issue.

Morgan Freeman also has a key role, he facilitates a group meeting and Merit is one of the participants. She has to complete the sessions and get his signature to keep her out of legal trouble but she is reluctant to share what is really going on. So he plays a pivotal role in helping her get past her own PTSD.

Good character study, my wife and I watched it at home, on DVD from our public library.

I had an idea on what the story was about, but it threw a couple curve balls at me. The fight at home is sometimes worse than the fight in the war. We had an epidemic, and I'm happy to hear that it's been finally slowing down a bit since 2019. My heart goes to all those who are effected, no matter at what level. I hope better programs are put into place going forward. We shouldn't be sending them out, just to bring them back and let them suffer alone. We have a duty to them, as they served a duty to all of us. I think that's one thing a lot of us can unite on. Truly a great story with a powerful message. The movie can be a little slow at times, so that's where my 7 comes in, but its still one I'd tell the right people to go and see.

Saw at AMC on 3-5-2025 with Nicole.

Soooo...I went to see this film at AMC's Scream Unseen, which is exclusively for horror flicks. So that was upsetting, this home is absolutely not horror in any way shape or form. Secondly, since it was an early release the director begins the film with telling you about his newest dark comedy. This is assuredly not a dark comedy or even funny at any point. With that out of the way, this is a film about and for veterans and addressing the higher suicide rate of those who have served our country. Of course this is an important topic and I appreciate the directors and writers who made the film. Unfortunately there isn't much here till about 70 minutes into the film. More of a slice of life that happens to have veterans in the film. I would wait to stream this film. Not really worth a romp to the theatre.