Film Review: WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD: Julianne Moore is Oscar Nomination Worthy in Leisurely Paced Drama [Sundance 2022]

When You Finish Saving the World Review

When You Finish Saving the World (2022) Film Review from the 44th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore, Finn Wolfhard, Jay O. Sanders, Billy Bryk, Alisha Boe, Jack Justice, Eleonore Hendricks, Catherine Haun, Annacheska Brown, Sara Anne, Marika Rose Sayers, Calhoun Koenig, Colin Miller, Adrian Mackenzie, Laura-Love Tode, Mimi Fletcher and Jordyn Aurora Aquino.

Julianne Moore has played so many great roles throughout her distinguished career from Magnolia to her Oscar-winning role in Still Alice. I first noticed her in the long-forgotten 1993 Madonna thriller Body of Evidence. She has always captivated audiences in the roles she has played even if the movie, itself, is mediocre. In the fairly recent A24 release, Gloria Bell, Moore made the film work tremendously well through her grand performance. In actor Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)’s A24 directorial debut, When You Finish Saving the World, Moore shines almost as bright as she ever has before even if Eisenberg’s script feels quite mundane at times. While I didn’t relate to any of the characters in Eisenberg’s picture, Moore’s exquisite performance is undoubtedly the first Oscar-nomination worthy performance of 2022.

Moore portrays Evelyn who works in social services and runs a shelter for people who are having extreme difficulties in their lives. Evelyn has a son named Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) who has a nice size following of about 20,000 people worldwide on the internet. Ziggy is a would-be musician who takes a liking to a female student named Lila (Alisha Boe) who is big on discussing politics with her friends. Politics don’t interest Ziggy at all. Meanwhile, Evelyn becomes fascinated with one of the people who seeks her help–a young man named Kyle (Billy Bryk). It seems Kyle works on cars at his father’s garage and Evelyn sees a tremendous amount of potential in this guy which he doesn’t seem to see in himself. Kyle’s abused mother is named Angie and is played quite well by Eleonore Hendricks.

Lila is a poet who seems frustrated with the way things are regarding certain things in life and for some odd reason, Ziggy becomes fascinated with her for reasons the film may try to explain but that just don’t ring true. It is debatable whether winning Lila’s affections is simply a conquest for Ziggy or if he actually has true feelings of admiration for her. These are two characters on completely different ends of the spectrum and they have virtually nothing in common. When the awkward Ziggy sits beside Lila and her friends at lunch, he reveals information to Lila that anybody with half a brain knows would anger her, yet Ziggy seems to think that Lila will react differently than she does in the film. It is obvious that Ziggy is more intrigued with himself than anyone else but whether or not he actually ever cared about Lila is hard to decipher.

Evelyn continues to try to help Kyle better himself through offering him programs that Kyle has no interest in. Evelyn’s obsession with helping Kyle makes more sense than Ziggy’s attraction to Lila but is also somewhat unusual. Evelyn may want to try to mold this young man into someone he can be proud of but she can’t change who he is as a person and her attempts to do so are frustrating to watch.

A great scene in the picture comes when Evelyn’s husband/Ziggy’s dad Roger (the terrific Jay O. Sanders of 1997’s wonderful The Matchmaker) gets frustrated with both Evelyn and Ziggy when they fail to attend a ceremony where Roger received a lifetime achievement award. Roger, when he confronts them, gives audiences a clear picture of the self-centered nature of Evelyn and Ziggy’s personalities. Sanders nails this scene and Eisenberg is to be credited for his direction of this powerful part of an otherwise meandering picture.

Wolfhard plays his character realistically and the portrayal of his character Ziggy kind of makes us understand why Evelyn tries to help Kyle. For all of Evelyn’s hard work and dedication, she seems to have little understanding of her son’s dreams and ambitions. This may be why Evelyn tries so hard to steer Kyle in the right direction. Wolfhard does an admirable job playing his character as written by Eisenberg even if the character is almost impossible to relate to for most of the movie.

Moore has some heart-wrenching scenes that ring true whether you like her character or not. This actress is one of the most remarkable female stars of our time and while this film is unremarkable, Moore is nothing short of award worthy. Moore makes us feel all the character’s pains and passions through a fierce, vulnerable performance. Wolfhard is in some wonderful company with Moore and, to his credit, he does manage to somewhat hold his own beside her. Another actor may not have been able to do this since Moore is so passionate in her performance of a woman who has dedicated her life to helping others but at the cost of her relationship with her family.

Whether or not Ziggy and Evelyn can salvage their relationship by the end of this picture, one thing’s for certain here. Moore is in top form as Evelyn. When You Finish Saving the World stands as an intriguing film about two people who must learn what to do with their lives after they try doing what the title implies. Eisenberg shows promise as a director thanks to the performances he commands from Moore, Wolfhard and Sanders. If nothing else, this film puts Eisenberg on the map as a filmmaker and gives Moore another potential shot at an Oscar.

Rating: 7/10

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