When You Finish Saving the World – Film Review

Evelyn (Julianne Moore) has devoted herself to helping people in hard times, but she struggles to connect with her son Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard), an aspiring internet star oblivious to the problems of the world. As Evelyn attempts to become a parent figure to an unassuming teenager she meets at her shelter, and Ziggy fumbles through his pursuit of a brilliant and politically conscious young woman at his high school, this emotional comedy reveals a funny and sharply perceptive portrait of a mother and son who may seem at odds but who are more alike than either would care to admit.

If there’s one massive takeaway from When You Finish Saving the World, it’s that Jesse Eisenberg certainly has a promising career as a writer and director one day if he ever wants to continue pursuing it. Even though this film didn’t amaze me or reinvent the wheel, it’s nevertheless a decently enjoyable coming-of-age comedy-drama that shows that Eisenberg is talented in more ways than one.

This is a movie that’s seeping with sympathy and compassion, and that’s honestly my favorite thing about it. Our lead protagonist here is Ziggy Katz, played by the always-excellent Finn Wolfhard. Ziggy is a teenage boy that practically doesn’t think about anything else except for his music.

He has a gigantic ego and that’s shown in almost every single scene he’s in. As soon as he gets home from school, his parents tell him to sit down and spend some time with them and eat at the dinner table, but Ziggy adamantly refuses, always telling them that he needs to go to his room so he can play some new songs on a live stream.

And when he’s at school or in any sort of social interaction with someone, he constantly searches for a way to bring up the fact that he has twenty thousand followers on social media. He even tells this to a girl he’s trying to impress by pretending to be deeply invested in politics, which spirals out of control. You can tell that Ziggy is trying way too hard to be likeable and while he can be a bit of a difficult protagonist, you can’t help but root for him.

The reason why? His heart is in a good place. Sure, he can be incredibly snappy at the people who truly love him and want the best for him and he has a colossal ego but because he is trying to follow his dreams and because he’s trying to be a good person, he’s so likeable.

It’s a movie that shows us that being compassionate and friendly towards others is not only free, but it’s the right thing to do. This is also true with Julianne Moore’s character Evelyn, who tries her hardest to be the best mother possible to the difficult Ziggy while also navigating her job running a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse.

Although the film finds ways to touch on emotional subjects, it definitely would’ve benefited from a longer running time. It doesn’t even run for a full ninety minutes with credits, unfortunately. I wanted to see a bit more of Ziggy’s moral conflicts and I wanted that ending to be extended a little because it was quite disappointing.

But if you’re a fan of coming of age movies, you should have a decent time with this one, so long as you understand that it’s not the kind of movie that reinvents the wheel or does anything groundbreaking for the genre. Simply sit back and enjoy the ride with those expectations in check.

Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore are excellent in When You Finish Saving the World, a decently enjoyable coming-of-age comedy-drama that serves as a solid showcase for Jesse Eisenberg as a director.