(Credit: Sundance)

Actor Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut is a family-themed comedy/drama that explores some of the more painful aspects of parent-child relationships, generational divides, and the thwarting of expectations from loved ones. Centred around the uneasy relationship between a mother and her teenage son, the storyline is uncomfortable and often tragic, but it also contains an ongoing thread of comedy – caustic and intensely sharp-edged humour at times, but also surprisingly hilarious even as it stings. In fact, almost every piece of dialogue in the film is amusing at some level; in general, thanks to the carefully calculated script, the darker the material, the funnier the scene. The film is effective not because of a remarkable or suspenseful storyline but purely for its acute, relentless examination of its characters, their dysfunctional relationships, and their often self-sabotaging conduct.

The brilliant Julianne Moore is excellent as Evelyn, an intelligent, sophisticated, chronically inflexible individual and founder of a shelter for battered women, which she now runs. Finn Wolfhard plays her son, Ziggy, a budding musician whose main interest is performing for his online fans – “over 20,000 fans”, he repeatedly points out, even to casual acquaintances, in a pitifully obvious bid for approval. It becomes clear early in the film that Evelyn has little understanding of what her son does and even less respect for what she sees as a pointless and rather lowbrow hobby. She is nostalgic for his childhood, when he was “her little ally”, and invariably agreed with her. The mother’s and son’s views, interests, and values are completely at odds; even their musical tastes are drastically different, and this leads to an unsettling relationship, a combination of yearning and resentment.

Ziggy’s father, Roger (Jay O. Sanders), is an important but secondary character who serves as a barometer for the distance between Ziggy and his mother and for the self-absorption of both. The film gives equal time to the two main characters: Evelyn, primarily “saving the world” at her admirably well-run shelter and trying to relate to her desperate clients; and Ziggy, awkwardly trying to impress friends and ingratiate himself with a girl he admires. Their personal and social struggles both describe their characters and provide context for the growing gap between parents and son, while deftly nailing some of the fatal flaws common to each generation.

Director Eisenberg’s script is adapted from his own work, a 2020 audiobook/play of the same name, still available on Audible. The film expands the story and includes visual aspects that contribute to the mood and to character development, thanks in part to the careful work of production designer Meredith Lippincott. The plausible interior of Evelyn’s shelter, with its cheap furniture and encouraging, upbeat posters on the wall, has a personality all its own; and the makeshift dissident poetry and music venue established by Ziggy’s friends is perfect in its messy earnestness. The film’s visual details add tremendously to the story, from choices of clothing or food to Evelyn’s responsibly chosen Smart car.

The film is not action-packed in the usual sense. The plot, while quick-paced and constantly unfolding, is entirely about the characters, their personal lives, and the flaws, attitudes, or inhibitions which prevent them from making meaningful contact with others. There is development and growth, but in unexpected ways, and only after the characters have gone through a great deal of ill-advised decisions, humiliation, pain, and revelation. Evelyn’s unconscious ‘adoption’ of a client’s teenage son as a more agreeable substitute for Ziggy becomes amusingly creepy but does eventually shock her into awareness. The characters’ efforts are as relatable as they are uncomfortable to watch, and for the same reason: even the most clueless or misguided actions can easily be recognised as familiar human traits. The most apparently minor, innocuous scenes are often punctuated with a jab of insight – such as a moment when Ziggy is made hopeful by his father asking if he is feeling depressed, only to find it is a purely intellectual discussion inspired by a magazine article about teen suicide.

When You Finish Saving The World is not quite a satire, in spite of comically skewering the actions of the main characters more or less continually. The treatment is too sympathetic, and the behaviours and attitudes being displayed are too many and diverse. What is being lampooned is the human condition in general, represented by a handful of people who are placed under a relentless magnifying glass. The satire manages not to play favourites or take the side of one generation over the other. Ziggy, with his self-importance over an online presence, and his staggering lack of awareness about anything outside his immediate circle, is a ridiculous figure, but he also has genuine musical talent, and his emotional openness and vulnerability are sad but charming. Evelyn’s dedication to her endangered clients is admirable, even while her tightly controlled interactions, and her inability to see her clients as her equals, are both grating and hilarious.

The film only lets go of its cynical humour at the very last minute, when we are allowed a glimpse of a possible reconciliation. It is a strange but satisfying black comedy, an exceptionally on-target character study, and incidentally, an excellent film for parents and adult children to watch together.