Hollywood loves the Imaginary Friend (IF) trope in all its permutations, and we’ve seen the device put to great use in films such as “Harvey,” “The Shining,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Fight Club” and “A Beautiful Mind.” We’re often led to believe the IF is a real person until a late reveal in the story, but in the case of the poignant PTSD drama “My Dead Friend Zoe,” the title tells us Natalie Morales’ character has died, and we soon learn that Zoe’s death has profoundly affected her best friend from the Army, a veteran named Merit played beautifully by Sonequa Martin-Green.
The mystery here is how Zoe died, why Merit feels responsible, and whether Merit will ever be able to process her grief and allow herself to have a life.
In the hands of the director and co-writer Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, an Army veteran who was a paratrooper and convoy commander in Iraq and whose experiences inspired the film, this is an invaluable and authentic reminder that for so many of our military personnel who return home to civilian life after tours of duty, the transition can be as traumatic and challenging as anything they faced while in uniform.
Merit and Zoe served as Army mechanics in Afghanistan. As we see in flashback sequences set in 2016, they become best friends despite coming from very different backgrounds, as they bond over Rihanna’s “Umbrella” playing on a cracked iPod, fend of off crude advances from their male comrades and share their stories during long nights spent standing watch, where the boredom is permeated with the underlying uneasiness that comes with knowing the enemy is out there and could open fire at any moment. (The BFF chemistry between Martin-Green and Morales is instant and warm.)
Cut to present day Oregon, where Merit has to attend court-mandated group therapy sessions run by Morgan Freeman’s Dr. Cole. (Freeman served in the Air Force, and all the group therapy participants save for Martin-Green are real-life military veterans. Their testimonials are raw and honest.) Zoe, who is of course visible only to Merit, serves as a wisecracking and brutally frank sidekick to Merit, who clings to Zoe as a support system and a way of avoiding any acknowledgment of the past.
At the urging of Merit’s mother (Gloria Reuben), who is preoccupied with work and has lost patience with her daughter and her troubles, Merit goes to stay with her grandfather, Dale (Ed Harris), at his lake house. Dale is grieving the loss of his wife and is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. He’s also a Vietnam veteran whose service inspired Merit to join the military, but they’ve grown apart over the years, and their time together gets off to a rocky start.
The one thing they have in common is that neither wants to talk about their military service. Dale comes from the generation where you came home and put the past behind you and get on with it, while Merit hasn’t yet found a way to say goodbye to Zoe.
With cinematographer Matt Sakatani Roe providing sun-baked visuals of the gorgeous, All-American locale (much of the shooting took place in Molalla, Oregon), director Hausmann-Stokes (who co-wrote the screenplay with A.J. Bermudez) deftly juggles multiple storylines, from the flashback sequences, to the “relationship” between Merit and Zoe in current times, to Merit’s evolving and quite touching connection to her grandfather. There’s also a sweet potential romance between Merit and Utkarsh Ambudkar’s Alex, who runs the assisted living facility where Dale might soon wind up, as his condition worsens.
Morgan Freeman lends his legendary gravitas to the role of Dr. Cole, who is sympathetic to Merit’s plight but also unbending in his insistence that she talk about her experiences.
Some of the resolutions of this myriad of conflicts and issues are perhaps a bit too tidy, but this is a richly layered and truly moving set piece, with a smart and insightful screenplay and great performances from the ensemble cast. Sonequa Martin-Green creates something special and memorable with her portrayal of a veteran who served her country with honor and distinction, and is hoping to find some measure of peace now that she’s home.