From his bedroom home studio, high school student Ziggy performs original folk rock songs for an adoring online fan base. This concept mystifies his formal and uptight mother, Evelyn, 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. In his carefully observed, aesthetically pleasing directorial debut, Jesse Eisenberg adapts his audio project of the same name to tell the story of a mother and son who fail to understand each other's values. With gentle humor and pitch-perfect dialogue, When You Finish Saving the World reflects a moment of internet fame and youth activism, but it also recounts the timeless tale of parents and children struggling to connect across the generational chasm that separates them.

Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for When You Finish Saving the World (2023) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Julianne Moore, Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk, Alisha Boe, Jack Justice, Jay O. Sanders DIRECTOR: Jesse Eisenberg CINEMATOGRAPHY: Benjamin Loeb MUSIC: Emile Mosseri PRODUCTION: Fruit Tree, A24

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for When You Finish Saving the World (2023). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

On April 9, 2020, Jesse Eisenberg, Finn Wolfhard, and Kaitlyn Dever were cast in the Audible Original When You Finish Saving the World, written by Eisenberg. The story was told from the perspective of three family members, at different stages of their lives, with the audio drama released on August 4, 2020.

Additionally, the audiobook was planned to be adapted into a comedy-drama movie, When You Finish Saving the World, with Julianne Moore and Wolfhard set to star as mother and son, directed and written by Eisenberg with Moore, Emma Stone and Dave McCary producing under their Fruit Tree production banner. The film adaptation was to take place in the present day and focus on the mother and son relationship, while keeping other details the same, such as Ziggy's mother running a shelter for victims of domestic violence, which she does in the audio version as well.

In August 2020, it was announced that A24 was set to finance, produce and distribute the film. It marks Eisenberg's feature film directorial debut. Moore and Wolfhard were confirmed as cast as mother and son, respectively, in April 2020. In November 2020, pre-production took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, followed by principal photography in February 2021. Filming concluded in March 2021.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 1 nomination total

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Anthony Lane of The New Yorker wrote "Twitching with the same unease that characterizes his performances, Eisenberg’s directorial début is taut with unhappiness but allows itself to be funny." Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote "Eisenberg is a thoughtful filmmaker, devoted to showing his characters as multi-dimensional, flawed human beings. This is a modest film, but not a superficial one." Amy Nicholson of Variety wrote "Eisenberg has made a satire that exists in shades of beige". David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote "Eisenberg's first movie behind the camera splits the difference between Noah Baumbach and Miranda July in a way that still allows his own voice to break through."

In contrast, Benjamin Lee of The Guardian wrote, "As a first-time director, Eisenberg is at least refreshingly restrained and gimmick-avoidant (this does not look like an A24-funded debut movie), but as a writer with some experience, albeit on stage and on the page, it feels a little anemic." Robert Adele of Los Angeles Times wrote "As a micro case study about some acutely flawed 21st century strivers, When You Finish Saving the World has its well-turned moments, but when you want it to be gloriously messy about families and human interactions, it stays resolutely in lab mode." Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times summarized "Eisenberg has already proven himself a smart wordsmith and a knowing performer of emotional unease, but this World is a disappointingly shallow tale of narcissism and negligence." Steve Pond of TheWrap reviewed "In its original, radio-drama form, the story played out over five hours and was much more expansive; trimmed down to less than 90 minutes on film, it feels like a short story, compact and uncomfortable and ultimately satisfying."