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Stars: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris
Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
Distributor: Briarcliff Entertainment

“If I were you, I would think very seriously about what living in the past is worth.”

The title of this film – My Dead Friend Zoe – reads in a slightly comedic fashion, and to an extent, initially diminishes how emotionally damning this film actually is. From writer-director, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, My Dead Friend Zoe is a double-whammy of trauma as it follows the life of an Afghanistan War veteran fighting both PTSD and her grandfather’s Alzheimer’s disease.

The life of Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) is a struggle. Continually triggered by the imagination of her fellow veteran Zoe (Natalie Morales) and the events experienced whilst serving, Merit fails to engage in a veteran’s group therapy led by Morgan Freeman’s Dr. Cole. Failing to be signed off by Dr Cole could result in Merit serving time for a workplace accident, too. To make matters worse, her veteran grandfather, Dale (Ed Harris) has Alzheimer’s disease, where he is at the stage of being a serious danger to himself.

One of My Dead Friend Zoe’s greatest attributes is its presentation of differential dynamics and relationships. For this quality to work, which it does quite well in this film, its central character – Zoe – needs to be resembling that of a social chameleon. Natlie Morales does a fantastic job of varying and adapting her character with the tasks, moods, and scenarios, faced when opposite the mixed variety of supporting characters. Natalie Morales plays the annoying best friend type for majority of the film, but come the latter end, she is given a platform to express her excellence in conjunction with her character, Zoe, coming to further prominence.

To great surprise, My Dead Friend Zoe doesn’t go full-in on Dale’s Alzheimer’s disease. Carefully, enough was shown to express the severity of what Dale is going through, and ultimately, what his family will have to adapt to. Though there was certainly an expectancy for potential overexposure of Alxheimer’s disease, though the lack of coverage actually benefited the main storyline in the film. The focus is on Merit.

Merit’s PTSD is an intriguing one. The flashback episodes that she experiences are used as a narrative tool to unlock the mystery of Zoe’s death and their time serving, but whilst benefiting the viewer, they exist with the important purpose of Merit finally coming to terms with her experiences with war in Afghanistan and returning home.

My Dead Friend Zoe is a special, deeply emotional film. Its depiction of life after serving is as brutal as anything, and will certainly be recognised by countless veterans who see this film. A conscious effort was made by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes – a veteran himself – to include veterans, from different backgrounds, as part of the film whether it be in front or behind the camera. Overall, a great effort is made to acknowledge that the appropriate care needs to be given to service men and women on their return home.