Kyle Hausmann-Stokes makes an impressive debut with this hauntingly real drama.
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Co-written and directed by U.S. Army veteran Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, making his feature debut, the comically/morbidly-titled SXSW Audience Award winner “My Dead Friend Zoe” is “Blithe Spirit” with PTSD. Yes, I’m trying to be darkly funny, too. But the film does borrow the idea of a ghost that only one person sees and hears and combines it with the story of an Army veteran named Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green of TV’s “Star Trek: Discovery”) struggling with PTSD and the death of her best friend Zoe (Natalie Morales). When we first meet the two, they appear to be at a support meeting for veterans led by Vietnam veteran Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman). A court ordered Merit to attend the meetings because of a case of “gross negligence” she caused at her workplace. Zoe rails against the “woe is me” attitude she thinks is encouraged by the current military climate.
We soon figure out that Zoe is either a figment of Merit’s imagination or a ghost or both. We see flashbacks to the service of Zoe and Merit in Afghanistan, establishing their camaraderie and love for one another. One may assume these flashbacks are going to lead up to Zoe’s death. Captions inform us that the film is “inspired by a true story.” Merit and ghost Zoe like watching the military black comedy “M*A*S*H” on TV. Merit goes on long, arduous runs early every morning. Merit’s accomplished mother Kris (Gloria Reuben) asks her to check on her grandfather Dale (Ed Harris), a widower who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He lives on a lake in Molalla, Oregon. They plan to place Dale in a nearby retirement home run by a young man named Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar of TV’s “Ghosts”).
Co-written by A.J. Bermudez from a story by Hausmann-Stokes and Cherish Chen and counting among its many producers Travis Kelce, “My Dead Friend Zoe” boasts the best ensemble acting of the year thus far. I know it’s early, but it will be hard to top this crew. Martin-Green’s talent was evident on “Star Trek: Discovery.” But the show was so disappointing that it pushed her greatness to the side. Here, she shines. And when will somebody give Morales the star-making role she so deserves? She and Martin-Green sing along to Rihanna, fist-bump one another, finish each other’s sentences, and laugh at each other’s jokes. They are not mismatched buddies. They are almost perfectly matched buddies, although they have a running spat about the value of college. Less privileged (and dead), Zoe thinks it’s for “rich kids and snowflakes.” Their performance is a delightful duet.
Merit’s grandmother, who died recently, was Black. Her father, who died when she was 7, was also Black. Merit grew up very close to her grandparents, especially her grandfather Dale, who is white.
Her mother has asked Merit to arrange for him to be admitted to Shady Acres, the retirement home. The fiercely independent Dale will not go gently into that “good night.”
”My Dead Friend Zoe” is, yes, another independent film about a troubled nuclear family and, in this case, a female bond that is familial in depth and commitment, even beyond the grave. Some scenes, for example, a first date at a local bar for Merit and Alex, are predictable. Director Hausmann-Stokes, whose personal experiences in Iraq inspired the film, brings a comic edge and deep empathy for the combat veterans—their pride, valor, sense of loss, and the burden many carry. Do we think it’s a good idea to take a guy with Alzheimer’s out on a lake in a pontoon boat? No, but this cast keeps you in it all, pontoons included. Did I bet Merit would make her last support meeting in the nick of time? Yes, but “My Dead Friend Zoe” makes you care enough about these people to overlook some mediocre plotting. When Merit slips a warm side-eye to Dale as he tells a friend and fellow Vietnam veteran about the specifics of his granddaughter’s service, Martin-Green hits another emotional bullseye. “My Dead Friend Zoe” may sound lame. But these actors make it sing.
‘My Dead Friend Zoe’
Rating: R for language
Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman
Director: Kyle Haussman-Stokes
Writer: Haussman-Stokes, Cherish Chen, A.J. Bermudez
Running Time: 98 minutes
Where to Watch: In theaters Feb. 28
Grade: B+
Boston Movie News 