If you have a fear of parrots, this movie might not be for you. This one has a talking parrot right at the center, and the parrot is death. Literal death.
Of course, this is exactly the kind of film A24 would release, and while I’ve already sent his, it is coming to MAX in October, very likely with audio description. And I think you should watch it. Not just because it feels like it has a fresh voice, and I’m so interested in a latinx director producing a film that stars white Americans, but was funded through an independent British grant. Like, this is a super global effort, and we see that influence all over.
Tuesday is the name of the teenager at the center of the film who is terminally ill, and her mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is trying to cope with that in the smallest of ways. She’s practically ignoring it, though she also is tending to all the needs of her daughter. So, when a parrot flies in one day, claiming to be death, naturally this throws off their daily routine. Tuesday is alone at first, and Death is in bad shape, so this allows for Tuesday to show death some kindness, which he repays by allowing her more time until her mom returns home so she can say goodbye.
Of course, Mom doesn’t react well, and let’s just say that death isn’t a problem anymore. For anyone. Anywhere. This is one of those films that takes an interesting look at Death Takes A holiday, but puts a fresh spin on it. Death didn’t intentionally take a holiday, but it is amazing how apocalyptic everything becomes when no one dies and they just suffer. This realizes that we need death, because tragedy strikes, and death relieves people who are in situations they cannot possibly survive from.
So, in the interim, Dreyfus has to figure out how to balance the world, and there’s only just so much she can do. But, what will it take for her to realize that she’s selfishly extending her daughter’s life only because her own identity is defined through Tuesday? That’s just part of the complex conversation Tuesday has with its characters so the audience is engaged and entertained, and a series of bold choices. Dreyfus gives a strong performance that is somewhere between a lead and a supporting. This film relies very little on her initially, but at some points puts the whole movie in her hands.
In terms of the audio description, size relativity is what I would give as feedback. the parrot, being a supernatural-ish parrot is one that tends to change size, growing and shrinking on a whim at times, and as a response in others. But, sometimes it is unclear just how big he is, or really in comparison to anyone else in the scene with him. I definitely did need to know more of that, since the dynamic is used quite frequently. Otherwise, I really loved the first person perspective we initially get from the parrot before we find out what it is (basically the beginning of the film) and the choices the parrot makes in movement are well supported by the audio description track.
Last year, i really wanted to love you hurt My Feelings, because I’ve wanted to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus get in the Oscar season after Enough Said. Director Daina Oniunas-Pusic is an incredibly welcome and fresh voice. A24 should definitely fund her next project. She brings such an interesting perspective to a conversation we feel like we’ve had before. It is a small feature, but it feels so much bigger, and even though the cast is relatively unknown except for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but there’s this conversation they are having that is important, very real, and carries such emotional resonance.
Final Grade: A-