By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Daina Oniunas-Pusic
Starring: Arinzé Kene | Ellie James | Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Leah Harvey | Lola Petticrew
Year: 2024
Running time: 110
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14682800/reference/
Val says: “The anthropomorphizing of death is not a new storytelling concept. But Daina Oniunas-Pusic’s story isn’t called ‘Death,’ it’s called ‘TUESDAY and in this film the talking death-parrot is a foil to her. It felt like a new take on the oldest concept in human existence – grappling with ones’ limited time on earth.
“In her first moments on-screen, Lola Petticrew’s Tuesday is charming. Her interactions with the parrot feel less like a chess match with death and more like two tired spirits coming together and finding some much-needed relief in one another’s’ company. The chemistry between the characters was wonderful, an impressive feat for two actors when they aren’t physically on-screen together! The range of Louis-Dreyfus’ performance was a true high point of the film, as her stubborn love for her daughter led her to consider becoming death itself before letting go. The sequence on the beach was a pretty big conceptual leap in the script, and the events leading up to it started to test my suspension of disbelief. But the moments between mother and daughter were grounded in reality and dripping with grief.
“The film drifted again when death returned to council Louis-Dreyfus again, but the final sentiment felt earned and the last needle drop brought some needed resolve (and catharsis?) to the moment.
“From the get-go, I was impressed by the film technically. I wasn’t sure how well death-as-parrot would read in the on-screen reality, but I was pleasantly surprised at the visual treatment of a natty, anxious, and immensely tired immortal being.
“I appreciated the nod to anxiety disorders, and that the film brought real conversation about the pain that those with terminal illnesses suffer and the ethos of whether an end to life could be a relief to some. Some of those conversations felt strange in the context of death as an immortal being (the scene where Tuesday diagnoses a panic attack comes to mind), and the rules of the world were quite fuzzy as the world around the mother and daughter is seemingly thrown into chaos without any sense of empathy or urgency from them about it. There is a privilege and isolation to the main characters’ lives as compared to their in-home carer and the few other peripheral people on the screen that feels at odds with the empathy we’re meant to feel for them. But it was a beautiful film with stunning performances by Petticrew and Louis-Dreyfus, and a really cool scruffy parrot. 4 cats“
Chris says: “TUESDAY is named after a terminally ill 16-year-old girl (played by Lola Petticrew); she is but one of three main characters in writer-director Daina O. Pusić’s feature debut. The other two are Tuesday’s mother, Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and a feral, multi-hued parrot who can change size at will and speaks in a sinister, garbled voice (by Nigerian born British actor Arinzé Kene.)
“It’s really all one needs to know as it’s best to go into this cold. Before the film’s screening, a collective buzz between other Chlotrudians and myself persisted that it was to be an unusual one, possibly a slow, oblique art film along the lines of
UNDER THE SKIN; from the first scene, however, it was more readily apparent that this was simply
batshit insane and fortunately, refreshing and unique. Even once one gets the gist of what’s really going on, the weirdness doesn’t cease; nor does an ability to surprise (one moment in particular is like nothing else I’ve seen outside of a Warner Bros cartoon.) TUESDAY has the feel of a future cult classic and it’s certainly not for everyone but it is assured, intriguing and unpredictable. Iconic for multiple comedic performances, Louis-Dreyfus has rarely played such a dramatic, heartbreaking role, although as in the most effective dramas, there is so much humor laced throughout that it’s almost inseparable from the serious stuff. I’m not sure if this is as
great of a film as it is an original one, but I look forward to revisiting it.
4 catsScreened at IFFBoston 2024; A24 will release theatrically in June.
