I went into “My Zoe” only knowing the very basics of its plot, and I would advise anyone else interested in Julie Delpy’s latest film to do the same. (But there is a trailer below if you just can’t help yourself.) It’s a genuinely surprising movie that begins with a couple going through a bitter custody battle and ends up somewhere completely unexpected.
Delpy has described “My Zoe” as “a bit of a take on child custody and the ‘madness’ that it is to be a parent.” In this film, that “madness” is the all-consuming, no-holds-barred love a parent feels for her child. The willingness to do anything to keep her child safe, and the refusal to let anything stand in the way of her doing so. From the first moment we see them together, there’s no doubt that’s the love Isabelle (Delpy) has for her daughter, Zoe (Sophia Ally). They are each other’s soulmates.
At the outset, the only thing threatening this connection is Zoe’s father, James (Richard Armitage), who is still nursing wounds from his breakup with Isabelle and stalling the final custody agreement and divorce. We see the conflict from Isabelle’s perspective, but aren’t totally unsympathetic to James — he acts like an ass, as many people do in the midst a dissolving marriage. But it turns out exhausting daily confrontations with her ex are the least of Isabelle’s worries.
Delpy told us she made “My Zoe” because she wanted to “[explore] a very deep fear that is ingrained in all of us. Also, to raise questions about our ethics when facing personal tragedy.” She explained, “I wanted to explore a drama, yet I structured it a bit like a thriller to avoid melodrama.”
As I said, there are plenty of surprises in “My Zoe,” but the film is far from melodramatic. Delpy is amazing as always and the story is so rooted in emotional realism that even its more implausible elements feel natural, and earned. For all its jaw-dropping moments, this is a movie that derives its considerable power from something that’s been depicted a million times before but is always relevant: the sacred parent-child bond.
“My Zoe” is now in theaters. Find screening info here.
