Since her arrival on Stranger Things, Sadie Sink has been an actor to watch. The entire cast of the show have been catapulted into the public eye and all of them have amassed interesting careers. Since her performance as Max in the most recent series, Sink has risen to the top to become a solid fan favourite. With the show on break whilst the final season is put together, fans are seeking their favourite cast members in their other projects. This means that Sink’s latest film, Dear Zoe, is sure to generate a greater audience than it would have perhaps garnered otherwise.
Directed by Gren Wells, Dear Zoe has independent drama written all over it, and as such, could have flown under the radar. The inclusion of Sadie Sink in the lead role lifts Dear Zoe out of its indie groundings and is likely a key factor in the film getting picked up by a distributor. Those flocking to see Sadie Sink will be rewarded with plenty of screen time of the young actor. A post Stranger Things opportunity to play the lead, Sink captivates the audience with her performance as a young girl trying to process her grief.
Set in the wake of the events of September 11th 2001, Dear Zoe joins Tess (Sink) whose younger sister Zoe dies in a tragic accident at the same time that the World Trade Towers are attacked. The world changing event eclipses Zoe’s death and so Tess and her family are left to navigate the minefield of grief alone. None of the family are coping and Tess’ anger at the situation leads her to leave the family home and move in with her estranged father, Nick (Theo Rossi). There, with the help of Nick and the delinquent next door, Tess finally starts to deal with her trauma,
Sink’s performance is beautiful. The young star effortlessly manoeuvres the various stages of grief and makes a compelling lead. As strong as her performance is, and she really does hold Dear Zoe together, her hard work is let down slightly in the execution. Dear Zoe has a distinct ‘Lifetime movie of the week’ vibe to it. Amongst the drama is a ton of melodrama, but none of it is given ample time to breathe. Dear Zoe is a ninety-five minute movie with two hours worth of plot. This over-stuffing means that almost all of the important story beats fail to land with the emotional impact they deserve. Tess is presented as wallowing in her sadness, but the execution never reflects this. Instead, Tess is thrust from situation to situation without space to rest.
Tess runs the gauntlet of several similarly themed teen movies unnecessarily. At least a handful of life events and encounters on screen don’t further Tess’ story enough for them to be vital to the piece. Their inclusion instead feels like ticking off boxes to appeal to the widest denomination possible. It’s a massive shame as it really does undo the performance of Sink and dilutes the emotional resonance of the story. An extended run time would likely iron out some of these kinks, but even then, some story editing would be helpful.
Not the home-run that Sadie Sink’s fans are clamouring for, Dear Zoe is perfunctory in its execution. Sink is fantastic, but even her commitment can’t help the viewer fully connect thanks to a breakneck pace. Dear Zoe throws everything possible into its script and in doing so drowns out the emotional clout of the key story points.
Dear Zoe
Summary
Were it not for the strong central performance of Sadie Sink, Dear Zoe would likely have become a standard Lifetime movie of the week entry. Viewed as such, Dear Zoe is a strong entry, outside of that framework though, Dear Zoe crumbles.
Dear Zoe is available on digital now.
