In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” actor Natalie Morales is stepping into one of her most challenging roles yet.
The dark comedy drama follows U.S. Army veteran Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), who keeps seeing her dead friend Zoe (Morales) who died in combat during the Afghanistan war. In the film, Morales stars as both the living version of Zoe and her ghostly counterpart.
The movie, which won an Audience Award at SXSW and the Best Narrative Feature at the Woodstock Film Festival, was inspired by director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ experience in the military and dealing with the aftermath of his service. “My Dead Friend Zoe” hits theaters nationwide on Friday and also stars Martin-Green, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman.
“The character I’m playing is more of a guilt demon,” Morales says of her latest role. “So I’m working with [Kyle] on a story that’s about him and his family and his best friends, and we certainly want to get it right. Thankfully, he was incredibly collaborative and wonderful.”
“My Dead Friend Zoe” is an ode to friendship and an intense dive into the world of grief; it also depicts the true-life struggles of veterans once they leave the service. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 24% of women and 14% of men who use VA Health Care were diagnosed with PTSD.
Not only is Morales representing Latinas in the military, which is rarely done despite this demographic making up 21% of enlisted women as of 2021, she’s also breaking the cultural stigma against discussing mental health in the Latin community.
“I really tried to make Zoe as real as possible with as many colors as possible,” Morales explained. “You’re right, it isn’t something that we see often, and that was also part of the reason I wanted to do [the film].” She notes that Hausmann-Stokes used his personal story to discuss the issues many Black and brown female veterans face, and that was one reason she decided to join the cast of the movie. (Hausmann-Stokes also wrote Morales a letter, explaining his mission for the film to the star: to inspire people who are going through a hard time to talk about it.)
Hausmann-Stokes also included several veterans in the cast.
“We got to talk to them about their experiences and what they went through and how difficult or not difficult it is to talk to people who have no idea what’s going on,” Morales said. “I think there’s also a toughness in the Armed Forces that makes it hard to open up. The fact is that you have so much purpose while you’re there and then when you get out, you’re not quite sure what that purpose is anymore, and that can be really difficult for people.”
In addition to Harris and Freeman, both of whom served in the military, Assia Lau’ren, James Bane, Thom Tran and others appear in the film as veterans in group therapy. Morales added that they spent an afternoon with Freeman where he discussed his own experiences.
“It was really profound hearing different people from different places and different generations and different experiences talk about what it was like for them,” she says.
Zoe is not necessarily proud of her duty, but joined as a necessity to survive. It’s a story that many in the Armed Forces are familiar with, joining as a path to college, for money, or even finding a sense of belonging.
“Obviously there are people who are excited to be there, but especially for Black and brown people that have different economic statuses, there’s a lot of people [where joining is] the only option for them, and they may not really want to do it,” Morales explained. “I think that’s also something that should be shown because it’s a part of the real world. Not to be in any way disrespectful to anybody who serves and finds real purpose in it, but I think it’s only valid to talk about and explore and to give a voice to those who don’t necessarily feel that way.”
The film finds a good balance of joy and comedy throughout its storylines. In some scenes, Merit (Martin-Green) and Zoe can be seen singing at the top of their lungs in a Humvee, and in others, they’re just two girls talking about life together in the most beautiful way.
“Life is heavy and funny and so is grief,” Morales said of the intentional inclusion of comedy in the film. “Grief can be hilarious sometimes. So I think that really helped all of us, is that there was levity throughout all of it. And I think that helped all of us really tackle the harder subject matters of this movie.”
Ultimately a story of resilience, forgiveness and power, “My Dead Friend Zoe” is a poignant reminder that veteran mental health — and mental health in general — is something that should not be overlooked.
“I would like people to take away from the film that they can always talk to someone,” Morales added. “Sometimes it feels like you can’t, but there are so many organizations and so many people who really want to listen, even if nobody in your life feels like the right person to talk to.”