After spending years as a talented actor, Jesse Eisenberg makes his debut as a director after also penning the script for his entry behind the camera. Assisting him in telling the story of this family drama is the great Julianne Moore and young star Finn Wolfhard. Are the two stars enough to make Eisenberg’s directorial debut one for the ages?
When You Finish Saving The World transports us to the bedroom home studio of Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard), a high schooler who creates original folk-rock songs for his fans online while trying to catch the eye of his classmate Lila (Alisha Boe). Ziggy’s mother Evelyn (Julianne Moore) struggles to understand his passion while juggling her work at a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. At the shelter, she meets Angie (Eleonore Hendricks) and her teenage son, Kyle (Billy Bryk) where she attempts to take Kyle under her wing during his family’s tough time.
This film is designed to tell the story of a mother and son as two ships passing in the night, eager to understand each other and forge a connection where there isn’t one. Evelyn’s attempted relationship with Kyle is a surrogate for the lack of one she holds with Ziggy, viewing Kyle as the child she wishes Ziggy could be; polite and amenable to speaking with her about the things she’s interested in. However, what Evelyn fails to realize is that her lack of a relationship with Ziggy has its roots in her own narcissism. What draws her toward Kyle is not his personality, or the politeness she confuses with a desire from him for closeness to her, but instead it is that Evelyn thinks he needs her unlike Ziggy. Kyle’s tumultuous home life that has led him and his mother to Evelyn’s shelter has convinced her that Kyle needs the stability and wisdom she believes she possesses in order to come out ok on the other end. Her concern however is at its core narcissistic, because Kyle doesn’t need her in that way either. Her own son Ziggy does need her, but in the way that a teenager who is finding himself needs guidance from their parents, not protection and saving in the way that Evelyn thinks Kyle does. She’s projecting her own wishes for the type of son she wanted onto Kyle, trying to create a son in her own image, just as she had with Ziggy. Part of loving someone is realizing who they are and loving them in the way that they need, not the way we wish.
When You Finish Saving The World displays some flashes of directorial skill from Jesse Eisenberg with him exploring some quality themes and a little bit of flair with the camera. Eisenberg is a big fan of wide tracking shots, utilizing them throughout the film. Lewis and Wolfhard are serviceable in their roles as the heart of the film, but their performances are nothing to write home about as the script they are giving lacks much in the way of drama or intrigue. Both writing and directing in your debut is a heavy lift and while it is a good first step, the film is not a huge immediate leap forward or announcement of his arrival in the director’s chair. Still, it would be interesting to see where Eisenberg goes behind the director’s chair with more experience and a higher quality script.
Image: A24
