Dear Zoe – Film Review

Tess is a young woman who’s grappling with the shattering death of her younger sister, Zoe. As the rest of her family grieves in their own ways, Tess seeks support from her biological father and a juvenile delinquent who lives in the neighborhood.

The opening five minutes or so of Gren Wells‘ Dear Zoe are incredibly melancholy and atmospheric. It sets the tone and promises an extremely dark coming-of-age drama that will surely make viewers get teary-eyed as the story progresses. After that synopsis you just read above, it should be that kind of movie, right?

Well, unfortunately, it’s not. Despite starting off quite strong, Dear Zoe sadly fizzles out into a disappointingly hollow drama that misses the mark entirely when it comes to its emotional core. Whenever the movie tries to hit you in the feels, it often feels like an extremely poor attempt.

The strangest thing about this film is that it really doesn’t focus too much on the emotional side of things. The title itself is kind of unfitting. I know this was based on a book with the same title, but I can’t help but feel as though this should’ve been titled something else, because the character of Tess barely mentions the titular Zoe in this film. She maybe brings her up four times and that’s it.

Obviously, Zoe’s death carries a burden on Tess, who feels responsible for what happened to her, but it’s just incredibly odd how the film barely puts a focus on this. It should have been a film that followed Tess and how much guilt she endures throughout her day-to-day life, but instead, we get what feels to be a quirky comedy.

The vast majority of the time, we are watching Tess flirt with this mysterious next-door neighbor named Jimmy, who’s incredibly charismatic and humorous. Zoe and Jimmy instantly hit it off with each other and they quickly spark a romance, much to the dislike of Zoe’s father Nick.

It’s a cute relationship and it’s hard not to get swept up by it, but it just feels so out of place for the kind of movie this should have been. And what’s up with the character of Nick? He’s one of the strangest characters I’ve seen in a movie this year. He doesn’t want Zoe to be with Jimmy because of a drug-related past, but it’s established that Nick’s only source of income is… you guessed it. Drug-related.

All of the performances here are super strong, however. Sadie Sink can honestly do no wrong at this point. After watching her phenomenal performances in projects such as Stranger Things, Fear Street, and now this, she may as well be one of the best actresses of this generation.

Theo Rossi delivers a strong performance as Nick, despite being such a strange character, as does Kweku Collins in the role of the charming Jimmy. Everyone involved with this project in front of the camera certainly brought their A-game. However, the people behind the camera definitely should’ve went back to the drawing board.

Despite a strong start, Dear Zoe ultimately fizzles out into a hugely disappointing film that puts significant focus on comedy instead of telling a moving, emotional story.