Rating: 4.5/5
Synopsis:
“My Dead Friend Zoe” might be one of the great surprises of 2025. It follows Merit, an Afghanistan veteran who is struggling with PTSD after her service in the Army. She is tasked with assisting her grandfather at his home, who is a Vietnam veteran. She must confront him about his dwindling health while trying to move on from her traumatic experiences. Merit consistently sees her friend Zoe appear as a ghost, making it difficult to cope with her past. Can Merit connect with her grandfather while overcoming the pain she struggles with?
Positives:
I had a feeling “My Dead Friend Zoe” would be a deeply personal story after reading the synopsis. I am pleased to say that the film is moving in ways I wouldn’t have expected. The story highlights the veteran experience, both while being deployed and integrating back into civilian life. The story focuses on Merit, one of many veterans suffering from PTSD. We experience her struggle in a deeply personal way, where navigating her feelings and processing the past become difficult. Her journey is one that will resonate with many veterans in this country, where moving on from traumatic events and taking the steps to heal are difficult. The story is an important reminder that help is available when needed. I really enjoyed seeing how the film reminds the characters (and audience) that talking about the issues they’re facing is a great step. It also highlights how people may process grief differently, sneaking up on us in ways that are unfair and unremorseful. These intense feelings are presented in a way that helps the audience understand what Merit is going through, as well as regular audiences can anyway. I appreciate director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ rich and honest approach to such heavy material.
Telling a story of such weighty thematic material demands that everyone involved be committed to the ideas at play. The cast and crew are more than up for the challenge. There was not a weak link amongst the performers. Sonequa Martin-Green gives an excellent performance as Merit, conveying the struggles and guilt her character feels throughout the story. I wasn’t familiar with her work before seeing the film but she demonstrated mature acting abilities in this role. I truly felt the emotions behind her character, empathizing with her as she struggled to figure out how to release the pain she grapples with. She even finds a connection through a man who runs a home for the elderly (played by Utkarsh Ambudkar) who also struggles with guilt from an entirely different experience. Natalie Morales counters Merit’s serious persona with more whimsy and spunk. Although she mainly shows up as a cameo, her presence becomes more important as the film goes on. Ed Harris is great as always, being a serious, grumpy grandfather whose struggles also get highlighted throughout the story. Morgan Freeman gets a small role but makes the most of his screen time. His relationship with Merit proves impactful by the film’s conclusion.
The movie is also impressive on a technical level. It often lets the characters sit with their feelings, allowing the performances to carry the emotional weight rather than overdramatizing it with too much music or inauthentic pandering. It is real, heavy feelings these characters grapple with, so allowing the film to embrace simplicity works wonderfully. The editing and story composition deals with a handful of storylines, streamlining them by the end to leave audiences with an impactful message. Being that Zoe is presented as a premonition, the film nicely edits Merit’s perspective with the idea that her friend is constantly in her ear. This combined with a series of flashbacks make the emotional gut punch even stronger. The film presents Zoe’s death in a way that peels back the layers slowly. The longer Merit struggles to deal with her PTSD, the more Zoe’s presence haunts her. She relives the events in her head over and over until it hits a point where she confronts her feelings, revealing what actually happened to Zoe. This sequence towards the end of the film was extremely emotional, giving audiences a fulfilling payoff that may require a box of tissues. This combined with her grandfather’s relationship nicely caps off the story with a feeling of hope for those who believe there is none. I really enjoyed getting to experience this story as it is based on the events of real life veterans.
Negatives:
“My Dead Friend Zoe” impresses in many regards, but a few areas could have been sharpened up. While I enjoyed the approach of letting the characters guide the story, certain scenes felt like they went on too long. Perhaps some tighter editing to help the pacing of the story could have helped. I also found Zoe’s constant interruptions to be jarring, oftentimes feeling like an annoying sibling rather than a lingering memory. Her presence in Merit’s mind could have been less frequent with the same impact. Since we learn about her passing as the story unfolds, we don’t get much time to really feel her absence in Merit’s life. I understand why she is there so much but it could have been balanced better. I enjoyed when the story reeled back on Zoe’s ghostly visits as the relationship between Merit and her grandfather progressed. The film also feels a bit long at times, but I’m not sure where I would have cut anything so perhaps this point is moot.
Conclusion:
I am happy that a film like “My Dead Friend Zoe” exists. It’s not often that a story this personal is willing to shed light on the struggle of PTSD that our veterans continue to grapple with. Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes makes the most of his directorial debut with a story connecting to his own military service. He gets the most out of his cast, bringing out some deeply heartfelt performances that are all wonderful. The film embraces a small-scale story that has an important message to share: that help is always available to those who need it, that the problems we face are solvable, and that life is always worth living. Get out and support this film as it tells an important story while breaking up the standard formula. I enjoyed the unique presentation of the film and encourage audiences to give this a watch.
