Movie Review: Tuesday

Tuesday is a strange bird of a movie, literally and figuratively. I’ve seen several movies in my years about death and people learning to cope with it, but never one quite like this. Though it takes a bit to get going, Tuesday is a unique and emotionally harrowing film about a mother coming to terms with her daughter’s death.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Zora, whose daughter Tuesday (Lola Petticrew) is terminally ill. Zora can’t seem to emotionally comprehend her daughter’s illness and refuses to acknowledge that death is around the corner for her. One day, Death in the form of a giant, talking macaw arrives in Zora and Tuesday’s life, which sends them on an emotional journey of love and acceptance.

We’ve seen Death portrayed in several different forms. I normally think of the black-cloaked figure from The Seventh Seal and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey or Brad Pitt in Martin Brest’s Meet Joe Black. But portraying it as a giant, talking macaw is something wholly original and bold. The film’s opening shows the macaw visiting other humans who are also on their deathbed for one reason or another, like getting in an accident or simply dying of old age. When Death reaches Tuesday, there is resistance for it to take Tuesday away right away because she convinces Death to allow her to say goodbye to her mother first and the two form a small bond. The deep, gravely, fatigued voice of Death (voiced by Arinze Kene) adds a layer of sadness to this talking bird, showing how tired and fed up it is with taking people’s lives.

Dreyfus gives a powerful, brilliant performance as Zora. Dreyfus, known for her award-winning comedic performances on TV in Seinfeld and Veep, gives a performance unlike anything she has ever done before. This is an emotional, vulnerable performance of a woman who refuses to accept her dying daughter’s fate despite death being in the same room. At the beginning of the film, Zora isn’t home much and she leaves Tuesday with Nurse Billie (a wonderful Leah Harvey). She doesn’t do much when she’s not at home, she mostly just sits on a park bench until the sun goes down and then comes home refusing to acknowledge what is coming for her daughter. When she meets Death in the form of the macaw, she even tries to stop it from existing and being around Tuesday and goes to insane, jaw-dropping lengths to do so. Zora’s journey from denial to acceptance is a captivating one and Dreyfus’s beautiful performance and chemistry with Petticrew, who gives an equally great performance, keep the film interesting even during its slower moments and make for a stunning, soul-crushing finale that will hit you like a ton of bricks.

2024 has been a strong year for feature directorial debuts and Tuesday is another one. Director Daina Oniunas-Pusic crafted an original, weird, emotionally powerful film and conjured up two excellent performances. There are some tonal and pacing issues and the CGI on the macaw is a bit shaky, but the big swings Oniunas-Pusic takes for a feature debut are respectable and exciting.

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