Movie Review

War movie My Dead Friend Zoe gets warmth and integrity from military vet

Natalie Morales and Sonequa Martin-Green in My Dead Friend Zoe.

Photo courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment

When you think about the “war is hell” genre, it’s easy to picture movies that actually depict combat. There have been fewer movies made about what happens after someone returns from war, although they include films like 1947 Best Picture winner The Best Years of Our Lives, the Oscar-winning The Deer Hunter and Born on the Fourth of July, and more recent films like Thank You for Your Service.

My Dead Friend Zoe does double duty in its storytelling, taking on PTSD in the modern soldier and framing it through the eyes of women, who rarely get showcased in movies about the military. Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Zoe (Natalie Morales) served together in the Army in Afghanistan in 2016, becoming fast friends not least because of the high male-to-female ratio there.

The bulk of the film takes place sometime after their stint together, with Merit in group therapy with fellow veterans under the guidance of Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman). Zoe accompanies her everywhere she goes, but - as the title tells you - Zoe is dead, appearing as a hallucination for Merit and alternately helping and torturing her with comments about what Merit is doing with her life. To add even more stress onto Merit, she’s enlisted by her mother, Kris, (Gloria Reuben) to look after her grandfather, Dale (Ed Harris), who’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes (an Army veteran himself), and adapted by Hausmann-Stokes and A.J. Bermudez from Hausmann-Stokes’ short film, Merit x Zoe, the film is a strong combination of a story about friendship, family, and the difficulty of reintegrating into a “normal” life after being in a war. Merit’s ability to “see” Zoe is a double-edged sword, as it allows her some measure of happiness in her otherwise depressed state, but it also is indicative of a deep well of pain that she’s not ready to confront.

To underscore Merit’s mental state, Hausmann-Stokes goes back and forth between scenes depicting Merit and Zoe’s time serving together and the current day. The juxtaposition of the two time periods allows the audience to understand the two women’s friendship better, as well as why Merit continues to find it tough to adjust to life outside of the military. The bond between her and Dale, who also served in the Army, brings an added element of gravity to her story.

The only slight misstep Hausmann-Stokes makes is by introducing Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar), a possible romantic interest for Merit. On their own, the scenes between the two of them are relatively charming and it’s easy to understand the temptation to add some levity to the heavy plot. But the subplot never brings anything of substance to the overall film, and it could have easily been excised without affecting the story as a whole.

Martin-Green is an industry veteran best known for starring in the TV shows The Walking Dead and Star Trek: Discovery. She ably holds her own as the star of the film, cycling through Merit’s highs and lows with ease. Morales is allowed to be more fast and loose with her performance, and she proves to be a great complement to Martin-Green. The steady hands of Freeman, Harris, and Reuben help to keep the story grounded and provide the familiarity that the two stars might not have for all moviegoers.

My Dead Friend Zoe is a message movie whose message changes as the film goes along. Made by a former member of the military in dedication to people with which he served, it’s an impressive debut feature film for Hausmann-Stokes that brings a desire to see more from him, as well as the two main actors.

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My Dead Friend Zoe opens in theaters on February 28.

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Movie Review

Summer camp drama The Plague proves middle school is still pure horror

Photo courtesy of IFC

Everett Blunck in The Plague.

Anybody who’s attended elementary school in the last 100 years knows the concept of “cooties,” a fictional affliction that is typically caught when touched by a member of the opposite sex. A more updated version of the same idea is featured in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, this time called the “Cheese Touch,” making anyone who touches a moldy piece of cheese on the school’s basketball court an outcast.

A much more menacing version of this “disease” is on display in The Plague, which takes place at a summer water polo camp for tweens. The film focuses on Ben (Everett Blunck), a slightly awkward boy who struggles to fit in with the “cool” crowd led by Jake (Kayo Martin). That group has no problems making fun of others that they deem to be different, especially Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has been ostracized because of a rash he has that the kids call “the plague.”

Ben wants to be part of the main group, but his natural empathy leads him to reach out to Eli on more than one occasion despite Eli engaging in some uncomfortable behavior. With the camp’s coach (Joel Edgerton) not much help when it comes to the bullying tactics by Jake and others, especially those that take place at night, Ben is left to fend for himself. His vacillations between wanting to be accepted and wanting to do what’s right continue until his hand is forced.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Charlie Polinger, the film has all the feel of a horror movie without actually being a horror. The staging used by Polinger gives the film a claustrophobic feel as Ben can’t seem to escape the psychological torture inflicted by Jake and others no matter where he goes. He also employs a jarring score by Johan Lenox to great effect, one that’s designed to keep viewers on edge even when nothing bad is happening.

No matter how far removed you are from middle school, the film will likely bring up feelings you thought you had left behind. Much like with Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Polinger finds a way to tap into something universal in his depiction of tweens, an age when everyone is still discovering who they really are. Some go along to get along, others don’t even attempt to fit in, but no one truly feels settled.

Whether the plague is real or not in the world of the film is up for debate. While most of the time it comes off as something made up to underscore the feeling of otherness felt by Ben, Polinger does literalize it to a degree. He even tiptoes up to the line of body horror before wisely retreating, although what he does show will still make some viewers squeamish. However, because he seems to be leaning one way before pulling back, there’s the possibility that some will be disappointed by the tease of something more intense.

The film’s biggest success is in its casting. Finding good child actors is notoriously tough, and yet Polinger and casting director Rebecca Dealy found a bunch who sell the story for all it’s worth. Blunck, Martin, and Rasmussen get the most play, but everyone else complements them well. Edgerton is the only well-known actor in the film, but he’s used sparingly and isn’t asked to do much, leaving the kids to carry the story on their shoulders.

Fitting in as a tween is hard enough without others actively trying to find ways to cast someone out. The Plague is an effective demonstration of the dynamics that can play out in a competitive environment that also includes a group that has yet to develop into fully-rounded people. It features discomfort on multiple levels, marking an auspicious debut for Polinger.

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The Plague is now playing in theaters.

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