ST. LOUIS — A parent would stand in front of a bus in order to protect their child. It's all part of the deal of guardianship that good mothers and fathers sign up for upon birth, one that doesn't include a guarantee of sustained life.
But a mother's bond is unparalleled.
Isabelle (Julie Delpy) and James (Richard Armitage) may not be married any longer, but they still bicker like school kids, especially over custody of their daughter, Zoe (Sophia Ally). She claims that their union was hollow, while he thinks her career in pharmaceuticals took precedence over family. Their interactions only get more heated when Zoe suffers an accident on a playground that puts her in the hospital. Faced with uncomfortable questions and scenarios, Isabelle and James have to come to terms with a lot more than mere custody rights.
With "My Zoe," the French actress and filmmaker doesn't run at this particular setup in a conventional manner. The critically-injured child fighting for her life, while their parents fight doctors, nurses, surgeons, and themselves for their sanity. Hollywood has been there and done that. Delpy, who also wrote and directed the film as well as co-producing, tackles the moral dilemmas and challenges that parents face in these messy situations with thought-provoking elegance and ferocity. There's no half-measures or glossed-over emotions; she goes for it all here. That includes flipping the table halfway through, which follows our heroine through the stages of denial and sorrow before a new idea places her in uncharted territory.
While the film's tone can fray a bit, and the concentrated dialogue can be overbearing at times (but wholly realistic as the same time), the end game here exists around the lengths parents go to in order to stay connected with their kids. What is a mother willing to do and try if it keeps her daughter alive? Delpy doesn't batter our heads with these questions, but syncs them up to Isabelle, who deals with the situation in much different ways than James. It's here where the actress reminds you that multi-tasking can be the most fun artform.
She spars skillfully with Armitage in many scenes, but holds others up with a series of looks and expressions on her own. She can convey more than most with what she does with her eyes, and Delpy never deflects the pain in Isabelle's journey. I think most parents have felt it, and thought about everything that she does here. A third act subplot involving Daniel Bruhl's rule-breaking doctor and his loyal yet ever-questioning wife (a wonderful Gemma Arterton) does stretch plausibility, skipping over time gleefully at times in order to do so. But it's a movie after all, one that will invoke all kinds of feelings and rightfully so.
Due to Delpy's sincerity behind the camera and the keen ability to write with the future in hand, you feel everything the characters do, as if you are living in their shoes. It's that kind of lived-in look that allows the ambitions in the screenplay to stay on their feet.
Bottom Line: "My Zoe" doesn't get everything right, but when the final image flashes and the screen goes black, you will need a minute. In the end, patience and elegance help Julie Delpy tell an important and hopeful story.
The film is currently playing at Landmark's Plaza Frontenac, and will hit on-demand services on May 25.
