Jesse Eisenberg Makes Directorial Debut with Sundance Film When You Finish Saving the World
Academy Award–nominee Jesse Eisenberg may not need an introduction, per say, however he did make his directorial debut with the film, “When You Finish Saving the World.”
From his bedroom home studio, high school student Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) performs original folk-rock songs for an adoring online fan base. This concept mystifies his formal and uptight mother, Evelyn (Julianne Moore), who runs a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. While Ziggy is busy trying to impress his socially engaged classmate Lila by making his music less bubblegum and more political, Evelyn meets Angie and her teen son, Kyle, when they seek refuge at her facility. She observes a bond between the two that she’s missing with her own son and decides to take Kyle under her wing against her better instincts.
“The movie was in some ways born of my inner conflict of the work that I do and mainstream entertainment, being so exposed to the work that’s done in these [women’s shelters] - the immediate need in social service,” Eisenberg shared when discussing the personal inspiration for this script. “The movie is kind of born of that: the conflict between art and social activism. These characters are in some ways reflective of the fight that I’m struggling with in my own mind.”
The film does its best to capture the semi-distant relationship between a mother and son navigating while through their own quirks. “I was really relishing this opportunity to play a character who was a human being, who didn't get it right! Who actually had a difficult time communicating, who had every intention of being the kind of parent that she wanted to be but was failing - miserably. And was better able to communicate with someone outside her family… I feel like this movie was rife with those moments that were incredibly illuminating and humane,” Moore shared. ”When you make a little movie like this, you’re there because this is important to you. There’s no other agenda than to create this thing together.”
In the end, oddly enough, in the end, they have a lot more in common than either realized. Whether you thought the film was a hit or flop, it definitely resonates in terms of the power to reassess and connect with those that are important.
