A24 Heads Jesse Eisenberg’s Directorial Debut
A24 is a studio known for giving directors a chance to deliver creative and authentic works, on occasions, passion projects. Of course, not all the films will be praise-worthy, yet there is a memorable factor to them (a scene, a single shot, a performance, etc).
The studio has three films in the Sundance slate; the first, a day one premiere, is Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut based on his Audible original: “When You Finish Saving the World.” It captured my attention due to the cast and crew attached to the picture and A24’s stamp on it. There have been many impressive directorial debuts from actors-turned-directors recently, and I thought this would be another one to put on that longlist. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case since the film had a ton of flaws and lacked a sense of narrative vision and thematic heft. The film centers around a relationship between son Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) and mother Evelyn (Julianne Moore).
A Broken Bond; Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Ziggy (who is named after David Bowie’s alias, Ziggy Stardust) is a songwriter, or so he calls himself that, who performs for a streaming site and has twenty-thousand followers (as he mentions constantly). The kid has an alienated demeanor with his family; however, he is most vulnerable and open when making music. His songs aren’t of the proportion of the man his parents named him after, it’s mostly indie rock “sad boy” tracks with lyrics that make you roll your eyes, yet he believes he has a special gift. He earns some money for his musical talents, which causes a fight with his mother early in the film. During the movie, his main “problem” is the failure to pursue his crush, the intelligent Lila (Alisha Boe), who has different interests than him. On the other side of things, Evelyn, Ziggy’s mother, works at a domestic abuse shelter she started.
She “cares” too much, that is her “problem,” which later leads to her trying to parent Kyle (Billy Bryk), the son of an abusive father. Evelyn doesn’t really care for anyone. She’s a narcissist painted as if she has never worked a day in her life for some reason. She wants the best for Kyle; however, they only met a few days ago, and she doesn’t know anything about him. What are her motives? As a viewer, I can suspect that this act is a coping mechanism for the connection she lost with her kid throughout the years and the “hero” complex Evelyn has (with her red cape on her back).
Complex Dynamics Between Mother and Son
That disconnection between parent and child can happen to anyone; most relationships aren’t perfect or strongly built. The narrative suggests that both Ziggy and Evelyn are looking for a replacement for each other: a girlfriend who inspires you to do better and a bright kid with great potential. They both know that they need each other, yet they don’t seek one’s company. Instead of having a conversation, they prefer to stick to their endeavors and forget about everyone around them.
‘When You Finish Saving the World’ has some exciting yet fragmentary ideas on its back despite those minor positive notes.”
And that somewhat is what the film wants to expand upon—a portrait of the failure to communicate as a family, specifically a mother-son bond. This topic then segways onto the generational divide in modern times. Eisenberg wants to touch on many issues, which hurts the film’s purpose, meaning, and effectiveness in the long run.
One topic that doesn’t reach its full potential is self-proclaimed “heroes,” or people who think they are making a difference in the world versus their purpose. Do you think people want to help others without personal gain? He establishes the question early in the first act; albeit you don’t get answers because the script is shoddy, shallow, and lacks a beating heart. Eisenberg tries to say something on several occasions without saying anything at all. It would almost be purposeless or without aim, except a few scenes make you see the story’s potential: the dinner scene between Ziggy and his father (which had one hilarious line), the mother-son conversation about wanting to know about politics, etc.
Some Script Issues, Despite Good Acting from Wolfhard and Moore
The script teeters between quirky, mundane, cringe, and, in spots funny, never finding its rhythm to balance out the narrative. For a film that’s only 88-minutes, it meanders too much and overstays its welcome. Although it does contain some good performances from Wolfhard and Moore, the pen doesn’t do them justice. Another quip I saw was that Eisenberg poured his persona and demeanor onto the script via the character of Ziggy. This is an occasion where the director isn’t in the film physically; he’s just being portrayed by another actor (a la Woody Allen).
“When You Finish Saving the World” has some exciting yet fragmentary ideas on its back despite those minor positive notes. It falls into the trappings of a debut film, and its views are half-realized. It’s unfortunate because it has a great team in front and behind the camera. The film deals with incomplete, or the lack of, connections and the restraints of attachment. In the end I feel it is just that: incomplete and unfulfilled.
This review was written from day 1 of Sundance Film Festival’s 2022 programming.
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1 Comment
“Do you think people want to help each other without personal gain?”
This. In a nutshell. The film has been dubbed “a war on woke”. Your comment is so relevant to that, for me.
So called do-gooders who are really only doing “good” where it suits them. Just humans helping themselves.
Try suggesting that they help someone who WOULDN’T benefit them, other enslaved species for example (who get a far worse deal than any human on the planet) and they’re not interested. You can almost hear them think “that’s not going to benefit my world though is it,. In fact it’s in my interest to be the purpetrator in that scenario, so I’ll ignore that and just be moralistic where it suits me instead”.
The woke are just one more bunch of self-focused shills. History is full of them. The only difference is how loudly they screech.