Grab the tissues: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’s directorial debut My Dead Friend Zoe is a dark comedy following Merit, a veteran of the Afghanistan War as she navigates life, love, and loss. She’s not alone: Her best friend from the Army sticks to her side like glue. The problem? She’s dead.
Despite being dead throughout the film, Zoe (Natalie Morales) breathes life into the film, contrasting the narrative’s heavy themes with well-timed humor and levity. While she has entertaining moments, Morales’ character is the physical embodiment of survivor’s guilt, isolating Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) from the rest of the world.
Merit returns to her grandfather’s (Ed Harris) lake house as he struggles with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. A Vietnam veteran himself, Merit’s grandfather shares her hesitancy to accept help or talk about their experiences, in and out of war. Zoe follows along, appearing in and out of scenes at random.
The dead bestie functions as a constant visual reminder of Merit’s loss. It’s unclear the terms of Zoe’s presence, but it seems that she exists as a figment of Merit’s imagination, an inescapable manifestation of how she imagines Zoe would react to her daily activities.
The film has a few loose ends, alluding to a criminal negligence charge Merit faces as a motivator for her to attend court-ordered Veterans Alliance group therapy with Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman), but never resolves the case. New love interest Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar) delivers a charming and funny performance, but the relationship lacks enough screen time to fully take form. However, the raw emotions of the film make these hiccups feel inconsequential.
A veteran himself, Hausmann-Stokes dedicated the film to two platoonmates he lost not during the war, but to suicide. He said he’s been working on the project for around 20 years, after his colonel saw his short films and encouraged him to pursue film and tell soldiers’ stories. Much of the supporting actors and crew were veterans, including Morgan Freeman, who served in the U.S. Air Force. “There’s not that many veteran films and every time we were portrayed, rarely do we get to write or direct it,” Hausmann-Stokes said in a Q&A session after the film’s Saturday world premiere.
Weaving together Merit’s past and present, Hausmann-Stokes effectively explores the ways that we process grief. While the focus of the film is on veterans, the core of the film is accessible to all viewers: We all suffer losses, but we don’t have to suffer alone.
My Dead Friend Zoe
Narrative Spotlight, World Premiere
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This article appears in March 8 • 2024.