Caught this at this year's virtual Sundance Film Festival. Like any A24, the production value is good and the performances are great. Julianne and Finn both do an incredible job of playing infuriatingly cringe characters in a way that doesn't feel completely absurd, but is definitely uncomfortable.

You do get invested in what will ultimately happen to their storylines, but ultimately, it's kind of exactly what you'd expect, and you can see if coming from 10 minutes in. The real question is, how do two people that have grown so far apart actually start to do the work to come back together and open up to each other's love? However, the movie shies away from that. It's really just the first part of their story arc - how they grow so far apart that they're forced to come back together, tails between their legs. That is the most emotional part of the me - you're DYING to see them come to each other in some honest way. But then, it's over. I think it's much easier to show two people stray from each other and go "off the rails" in their own way, but it's hard to explore the journey back. I wish this movie had chosen to tell more of the difficult part of the story, because that's where the true emotion lies.

Saw this back at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival

"When You Finish Saving the World" isn't the best A24 production but the movie is still engaging and fun due to the realistic nature between the characters portrayed by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard and the captivating tone presented throughout. Eisenberg isn't an actor that I am incredibly invested in but he has played some really good movies over the past years in the 2010s decades of cinema. This movie displays that for an actor, his directing talents does shine quite a bit.

What makes the movie interesting is due to the characters and the engaging narrative Eisenberg presents. The characters are seen as mean, narcissistic and quite all over the place. I understand if people will be annoyed by this kind's of characters but the fact is that in real life, people can be different and mean. That's what makes it very nature and interesting. The production designs are very good, Wolfhard's singing is surprisingly pretty good and the tone is perfectly paced.

The problem is that sometimes the writing does feel flat because it is pretty predictable from the beginning to end at times. Secondly, certain dialogue spoken from the actors felt really off as if the words were written by some robot.

Overall, it is a pretty good debut despite it's flaws. It's definitely not for everyone but I recommend this if you are a lover of A24's projects.

Rating: B.

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"When You Finish Saving the World shows Jesse Eisenberg's solid attributes as a first-time director, but the unrewarding story led by two unbearable protagonists makes it a difficult watch.

Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard are excellent at making the viewer hate their frustratingly hypocritical & narcissistic characters - who disappointingly fail to show any sort of learning curve or a complete arc. Eisenberg boasts a firmly honest vision by ensuring every scene carries a clear purpose and underlying message.

In the end, it's just a matter of perspective: recognizing the lack of a healthy mother-son relationship is undeniable proof of efficient storytelling.

But the third act truly needed a more impactful, less subtle conclusion."

Rating: C-