Call Me! On-Air Film Review of ‘When You Finish Saving the World’

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Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on January 19th, 2023, reviewing “When You Finish Saving the World,” the directorial debut from actor Jesse Eisenberg. In select theaters beginning January 20th.

This is a relationship film of mother to son/social worker to surrogate son, all through Evelyn, in another stellar performance by Julianne Moore. Her actual son is Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard) a somewhat lost soul who spends his hours live streaming his original music to a growing international fan base. Her surrogate son is Kyle (Billy Bryk), a 17-year-old who has checked into the domestic abuse halfway house with his mother, where Evelyn is director. As Evelyn drifts from Ziggy, she latches too close onto Kyle, and the result becomes a messy relationship for each boy. Meanwhile, of course, all the other relationships in their lives swirl around them.

When You Finish Saving the World
Photo credit: A24

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com reviewed When You Finish Saving the World” during the Morning Mess with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM, Monroe, Wisconsin, January 19th, 2023. NOTE: the “father and son” statement in the review of course should be “mother and son.” which ironically is a classic Freudian slip …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com