by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
How do you process your own mortality? All humans will die someday, and most wish they could go out quietly in old age. But life does not always work that way — it is hard to process. Many people probably envision the experience as floating and fading away into darkness, but we won’t know until we come to that moment in time (and by that moment… we will be dead). The latest film from A24 has a wholly unique and wild take on this inevitability, as writer/director Diana Oniunas-Pusic tackles this in her latest attention-grabbing feature effort, Tuesday.
What is so interesting and unique about this drama? Few films have shown this perspective on death, and just completely run with it. In Tuesday, death is portrayed as a gravelly voiced parrot who can change size. This character is terrifying at first (a great opening sequence captures the intensity), and the film slowly pulls back the layers to show a more tortured and nuanced version of Death. Arinzé Kene delivers a compelling and unnerving voice performance that feels both otherworldly and deeply tortured in its humanity. Death might not be the main character, but it has an arc that is compelling and moving. The effects that bring this full CGI character to life are impressive and unexpected for such a small film.
How else does Oniunas-Pusic navigate the film’s heavy themes? There is a central relationship between a dying young woman, the titular Tuesday (Lola Petticrew), and her disconnected, fearful mother. The way this mother, Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), is forced to confront her daughter’s reality works well in the context of grief and loss. All of us who have lost can have empathy for her, because we know how hard it is to accept it without some kind of fight. The fight that Zora puts up in Tuesday is strange, big, and bold, which works perfectly for the inventive film. There are a few elements in the visual storytelling which help bring Zora on her journey. Some jaw-dropping visual choices are awe-inspiring from a cinematic perspective. The undercurrent to the story is what happens when Death befriends this dying girl and avoids his torture-filled duties for a bit. Those elements bring in an element of dark comedy, as well as some wild and unexpected storytelling decisions.
When it comes down to it, does this cast deliver powerful match the creative boldness of the rest of the film? Kene certainly is a standout thanks to his vocal skills, but there are two central performances that anchor and enrich the story. Louis-Dreyfus is such a talented actor who has great comedic chops. There are a few moments that will get you laughing thanks to her impeccable comedic timing. She has done a great job of creating a character who is deeply unlikeable, but we get where her fear and insecurities come from. You can feel so many different emotions rising in her performance that mask her fear of loss. Zora has a few moments of pure anger that are very frightening, and Louis-Dreyfus kills it. There are other moments with weirder turns where she must wear all her insecurities on her sleeve. But she has a great dancing partner in Petticrew, who is so sweet and kind, making it easy to get behind her. Her dynamic with Death is dynamic and engaging, with Petticrew carrying quite a bit of it on set. But she gives an excellent performance through all the pain and suffering that Tuesday experiences.
Is Tuesday that right kind of strange, bold, ambitious, and unique? A24 has a reputation for distributing boundary-pushing art. Tuesday is a perfect example of exactly this, as it is not going to register for everyone. There are many complicated emotions, themes, and ideas that fill out this magical realism. Certain elements will need a lot of time and effort to navigate and unpack, but that kind of challenge is good for the art form. Great performances, impressive technical elements, and deeply rich themes make this film satisfying and resonant.
Rating: Loved It
Tuesday is currently playing in theaters
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