Directed by: Daina Oniunas-Pusić
Distributed by: A24
Written by Taylor Baker
50/100
Daina Oniunas-Pusić’s debut film “Tuesday” is a magical realist take on death, who happens to manifest as a parrot that can shrink small enough to fit in your ear canal and grow larger than a living room. Tuesday (Lola Petticrew) is a teenage girl suffering from a debilitating disease that requires round-the-clock care. Her mom, Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), has stopped working and begun to sell off family heirlooms, art, and even some bathroom tile to help pay for the support that Tuesday requires, all while pretending she still has a job to keep her daughter from worrying.
On one of the days Zora is out pretending to work, Death (the parrot) visits Tuesday. And after some back-and-forth that shows off how endearing Tuesday is, he agrees to let her call her mom and let her know that she’s about to die before he takes her. When Zora doesn’t pick up, the parrot agrees to wait until she tells her mom, which leads to a by-the-book examination of the stages of grief by Zora once she meets the parrot, Death.
While not wholly original, Daina Oniunas-Pusić’s style and voice are refreshing. She swings big and creates a messy imaginative debut feature with heart. There is a sloppiness to the tone of the film, and it doesn’t reach the comedic exuberance it aims for, instead conjuring dry scoffs at its absurdism. Such as when a man missing both his legs from the knee down drags himself down the street by his arms screaming “Kill me,” or when Tuesday’s nurse runs down the block while being attacked by a swarm of insects, with sirens going off, and pedestrians yelling all around her.
Should Oniunas-Pusić further develop her tone control, she’ll become a filmmaker to contend with. “Tuesday” is a sloppy and sincere mixed bag, heavily reliant on middling CGI.
“Tuesday” Trailer
You can follow more of Taylor’s thoughts on film on Letterboxd, Twitter, and Rotten Tomatoes.