(Photo Credit: Briarcliff Entertainment)
(“My Dead Friend Zoe” trailer courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes Indie)
Some pastors say people are either in a storm, getting ready to go through one or coming out of a storm.
Unfortunately, that is just how life often works.
However, what happens when a person physically emerges from a storm but has not mentally repaired the damage caused by its destruction?
Then, that person must deal with another crisis simultaneously without going completely insane.
“My Dead Friend Zoe” shows why taking care of oneself is just as important as taking care of loved ones because a sick person cannot nurse someone else to health on love alone.
More importantly, “My Dead Friend Zoe” shows that mental health is often just as important as physical health, and no fictitious bravado can heal a person from life’s reality.
In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) is living her best life.
As a young child, Merit dreamed of joining the United States military.
She remembered how proud she was of her grandfather Dale (Ed Harris) as he and other veterans got recognized every year on the Fourth of July.
To a little Merit, Dale seemed like a giant standing as his military branch’s fight song got played on Independence Day.
So, when Merit gets old enough to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps, she does not hesitate.
She serves her country proudly in Afghanistan.
Along the way, she becomes like family to her colleagues in uniform.
In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” she develops a sisterhood with Zoe (Natalie Morales).
Although the two bond over the music on their iPod like “Umbrella” by Rihanna, they come from drastically different worlds.
When Merit’s enlistment ends, she knows exactly what she wants to do next.
Although Merit has recently lost her grandmother, she comes from a great, even though sometimes estranged, family.
Her family enjoyed enough success that her grandparents had acres and a lake house.
The only real dilemma Merit’s family faces is what to do with the lake house as Dale gets old and begins to experience some health challenges.
On the other hand, Zoe does not have the family support to return to if she chooses not to reenlist.
Merit thinks it is a bad idea for Zoe to reenlist in the military.
She believes there are so many opportunities outside of the military for Zoe to take advantage of.
But Zoe insists that her future is not as clear as Merit wants it to be.
Fast forward some years and Merit is in a totally different headspace.
In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” Merit attends counseling sessions with other former soldiers, moderated by Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman).
However, Merit never really participates when Dr. Cole asks the soldiers to share why they are in counseling.
Merit always seems distracted by someone else, even though she attends the sessions by herself.
Even when she is in a good mood while listening to music in her car, other drivers look at her as if she has lost her mind because she seems to be enjoying the company of another person even though she is alone in her automobile.
It is as if something or someone from her past is haunting her.
Maybe the poor decisions that she made are haunting her mentally.
Whatever she did it requires counseling sessions to atone for it.
And if she does not begin to actively participate in Dr. Cole’s program, she might find herself in a more dire predicament than she is already in.
Finishing the classes might become more difficult when she is forced to care for an ailing Dale and help her mother Kris (Gloria Reuben) decide what to do with the lake house.
But if she cannot figure out how to take care of her family’s needs while taking care of her own needs, she might find herself up and creek without a paddle.
“My Dead Friend Zoe” is a continuation of a wake-up call that has been, thankfully, taking place over recent years.
Back in the day, soldiers suffered in silence after they returned from war, without getting help to address their mental health issues.
Many families of veterans have horror stories of family members coming home from war shell-shocked, and their mental struggles taking a toll on the family.
Some might have flashbacks that cause them to act violently towards their family members.
And some might wake up in fear as if they are still fighting the war, begging their enemy not to shoot.
But generations ago, many soldiers were encouraged to just suck it up.
That mentality led to more problems, unfortunately.
In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” Merit is definitely from the old school when it comes to handling the stress of war.
It has gotten so bad that it might have already ruined her relationship with Dale and Kris while ruining any potential for a relationship with Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar).
Although “My Dead Friend Zoe” deals with the stress that soldiers deal with, all can relate.
When people lose a loved one, they often begin playing the what-if game.
What if they had done something differently?
Would things have turned out differently?
That contemplation can often drive a person mad.
Although loved ones cannot be replaced, it does not mean that a person will not be blessed with more loved ones to help them navigate the harsh realities of life.
“My Dead Friend Zoe” does a solid job of dealing with the psychology of loss and the importance of moving on, somehow.
Unfortunately, the title of the movie gives much of the movie away.
But even with the predictability of a movie called “My Dead Friend Zoe,” there are still enough surprises to keep audiences guessing.
And despite Zoe’s mistakes, moviegoers will cheer that Zoe musters enough support to get through the storms of life.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
