While writer and director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes was fortunate to return home after serving in the United States Army in Iraq, not everyone he knew did — a trauma he carries, much like his characters in My Dead Friend Zoe, a fictional story inspired by a real one.
At the start of the film, Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), visibly frustrated, attends a group therapy session with her friend Zoe (Natalie Morales). When it's her turn to share, Merit bristles and Zoe stands up and delivers a small tirade about the uselessness of therapy. The doctor leading the group prods Merit again to share, and a quick change of the camera angle reveals that Zoe isn't actually there.
Merit served with Zoe as light mechanics in Afghanistan, filling their days repairing trucks and watching gates, along with drinking illicit alcohol and belting out Rihanna songs. Merit returns home without Zoe, carrying her friend everywhere she goes. After learning that her Grandfather Dale (Ed Harris) has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she's forced to re-engage with the family and the life she has been avoiding.
We've seen many films with protagonists haunted by their trauma and soldiers struggling to return home before; what sets My Dead Friend Zoe apart is its performances, specifically Sonequa Martin-Green's. She proves herself beyond a shadow of a doubt, playing Merit constantly under stress, not only from what's going on in her world but from Zoe's presence, who promises to disappear forever if Merit ever speaks of her, something Merit can't bring herself to do.
Within Merit contains a complicated tapestry of emotions: love, anger, shame and heartbreak, and Martin-Green carries them with grace and nuance, elevating a story that could easily have been a clichéd melodrama into something resonant. As Merit reconnects with Dale and a kind man who owns a care home (Utkarsh Ambudkar), Martin-Green weaves in small moments of joy and hope. A scene where she and Harris have their first real heart-to-heart, remembering better times past, is an early front-runner for one of the best-acted scenes of the year. Harris does so much with so little, and seeing Martin-Green allow Merit to slowly open up is incredible.
As the story unfolds, Hausmann-Stokes builds the tension by interspersing the film with flashbacks from Afghanistan when the two friends approached the end of their tours. He does an excellent job of slowly unwinding the story and building toward the reveal of what happened to Zoe, hitting our emotions with like a ton of bricks. Not to be discounted, Morales brings her usual charming self in with a slight edge.
My Dead Friend Zoe may be predictable, but anyone who has lost a close friend will connect with Hausmann-Stokes's story nonetheless. The film speaks honestly and compassionately about the trauma soldiers carry with them, and the difficulty of moving forward.