REVIEW: My Zoe (2021)
Imagine a grounded sci-fi drama in which an inconsolable mother (played by Julie Delpy) who cannot process the passing of her daughter, Zoe (Sophia Ally), decides to go to Moscow and try to conceive a clone version of her daughter. Inconceivable, I know, but Julie Delpy’s My Zoe is one of those rare films in which two distinct genres that have no business together blending to draw one of the finest pictures on grief I’ve seen since I tuned into Marvel’s WandaVision in January. WandaVision blended situational comedy, sci-fi, traditional superhero action, and a sprinkle of witchcraft to conceive a story in which a grief-stricken Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) created a “cloned” version of Vision (Paul Bettany) to live out her “perfect” fantasy in which the couple would live “happily ever after.” My Zoe is more rooted in reality than WandaVision, but strangely enough, finds many similarities in its story and overall treatment of grief.
“What is grief if not love persevering?” Vision tells Wanda in the eighth episode of WandaVision. My Zoe starts with showing that indelible love, with Isabelle (Delpy) sharing a deep affection for Zoe, whether it’s describing her face and hair in detail and singing a song to calm her down before she goes to bed. Isabelle has difficulty separating joint custody with her ex-husband James (Richard Armitage), who wants to take full control of Zoe’s life while pushing Isabelle away. This all changes when Zoe suffers a cerebral aneurysm that unfortunately ends her life. Both Julie Delpy and Richard Armitage are terrific in the film’s first two acts, to which we observe how distant their relationship is. They never listen to one another, which was likely the case when they were together. Both of them only think of themselves instead of putting Zoe’s needs first, which will, unfortunately, endanger Zoe’s life later as they become blissfully unaware of the babysitter’s incompetence. They’re too busy fighting over custody instead of spending the most time with Zoe.
Delpy and Armitage’s performances slowly become devastating as they both feel remorse for Zoe’s condition once she is rushed to the hospital. Delpy has always been a terrific actress who can evoke so much feeling with minimal dialogue, as well shown in her tenure in the Before trilogy. The same thing happens here: Isabelle does not want to accept that “it’s over” after Zoe dies and that there’s more to her story. At first, she’s completely inconsolable, telling her mother (Lindsay Duncan) that it’s impossible to have faith when Zoe is considered “brain dead” and is a total wreck when her doctor believes the best thing to do would be to remove her organs to donate them to children in need. However, she doesn’t want Zoe’s story to be over, with her grief rapidly transforming itself into a solution, in which then the film will slowly move into a more “sci-fi” setting with Isabelle taking samples of Zoe’s cells and traveling to Moscow to meet Dr. Thomas Fischer (Daniel Brühl), a controversial fertility physician who’ll reluctantly try and create a perfect clone of Zoe.
At first, Fischer does not want to participate in the experiment, but as he starts to feel Isabelle’s anguish, he’ll try to grant her wishes. As the film starts to present ambitious ideas that seem a tad far-fetched, such as cloning a human embryo, it doesn’t detract from its main goal: cure Isabelle of her never-ending stage of grief. All she wants is “her Zoe” back, and she’ll do (quite literally) anything to make sure she returns, even if it means endangering herself and putting Dr. Fischer’s operations at risk by performing an illegal operation. What’s most astounding with Delpy’s performance during those moments is that she talks about Zoe in the present tense, even if her daughter has died and the cloning operation might not work. She’s trying to keep her spirit alive, which is the most heartbreaking part of the entire film. No one knows if the procedure is going to work, let alone if Fischer will end up in prison, but by keeping Zoe alive in her heart, she’ll do everything in her power to make sure she’s brought back from the dead and is allowed to live her life as God intended.
The film’s first shot showcases how it’s going to end, with Gemma Arterton’s Laura Fischer acting as Isabelle’s surrogate mother for Zoe. What we don’t know, however, is how Isabelle will get to that path and how her healing journey will never happen unless Zoe lives again. Imagine putting yourself in the shoes of a parent that loses a child, no matter their age. It’s something no one wants to live through, as it brings so much unbearable pain to them. Everyone affected by the tragedy would want anything to bring their children back, as the pain will never stop until they return. For Isabelle, once a cloned version of Zoe is successfully born, the pain has stopped. “Her Zoe” is back, and we can’t help but feel so much compassion for her dedication to achieving the impossible.
Julie Delpy’s My Zoe acts as a reminder to hold on to the most precious individuals in our lives, tell them constantly we love them before a higher power takes it all away. It’s a difficult watch from beginning to end, and parents who have lost children should not watch it. Still, Delpy’s sincerity as a filmmaker allows for an emotional drama full of devastating raw feelings from beginning to end until it becomes hopeful again. There’s always a light at the end of a dark tunnel, even if it seems impossible to reach. And trust me, my friends, hope will always prevail, no matter how gloomy it is. Keep shining your light. Hope will come soon enough.
