Tuesday (2023 film)

2023 film by Daina O. Pusić

Tuesday

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Daina O. Pusić
Written by| Daina O. Pusić
Produced by|

* Helen Gladders
* Ivana MacKinnon
* Oliver Roskill

Starring|

* Julia Louis-Dreyfus
* Lola Petticrew
* Leah Harvey
* Arinzé Kene

Cinematography| Alexis Zabé
Edited by| Arttu Salmi
Music by| Anna Meredith

Production
companies

* Wild Swim Films
* Gingerbread Pictures
* Record Player Films

Distributed by| A24

Release dates

* 1 September 2023 (2023-09-01) (Telluride)
* 7 June 2024 (2024-06-07) (United States)
* 9 August 2024 (2024-08-09) (United Kingdom)

Running time

| 110 minutes[1][2]
Countries|

* United States
* United Kingdom

Language| English
Box office| $755,700[3][2]

Tuesday is a 2023 fantasy dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Daina O. Pusić in her feature directorial debut. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lola Petticrew as a mother and daughter who are guided by Death in the form of a size-altering macaw in coping with the daughter's impending death from a terminal illness. Leah Harvey and Arinzé Kene also star.

Tuesday had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on 1 September 2023. The film was released in North America in June 2024,[3] and in the United Kingdom on 9 August 2024.[2] It received generally favourable reviews from critics.

## Plot

[edit]

Zora's 15-year-old wheelchair-bound daughter Tuesday has an incurable terminal illness and Death comes to her in the form of a size-altering macaw to give her final deliverance from pain and suffering. Tuesday realises who and what the talking size-shifting bird is, and asks it not to kill her until her mother arrives home. Zora, on seeing Death and hearing it say that she needs to say good-bye to her daughter because every life must come to an end, at first tries to catch the macaw, and then tricks Death into going into the garden, where she bashes it repeatedly with a heavy book and sets fire to it. On hearing Death's dogged exhortation that Tuesday must die, Zora puts the badly charred bird into her mouth and swallows it whole.

With Death swallowed in Zora's body and unable to perform its life-terminating duties, numerous reports begin to circulate of people and animals not dying from accidents, usually expected to be lethal, and then continuing to roam the countryside in zombie state despite their injuries. With Death still inside her, Zora spontaneously changes her size when put under stress by Tuesday's persistent questioning about Death's whereabouts. Tuesday persuades her mother to deputise for Death in its absence, rendering final relief from pain to the suffering animals and people. On hearing Tuesday trying to control her pain through conscious breathing, Zora realises in how much pain her daughter is. She regurgitates Death and they come to an agreement how to proceed, with Tuesday passing away later that day.

Zora becomes demoralised after her daughter's demise and sometime later Death comes to visit her to see how she is. Zora speculates that it would be better for her to be dead. But Death tells Zora that if she needs a reason to keep living, then it should be to keep Tuesday’s memory alive. The film closes with Zora exhaling and telling herself, "Get up, woman".

## Cast

[edit]

* Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Zora
* Lola Petticrew as Tuesday
* Arinzé Kene as the voice of Death
* Leah Harvey as Nurse Billie
* Ellie James as Willow
* Taru Devani as Ira
* Jay Simpson as Spike
* David Sibley as Robert
* Nathan Amzi as Nathan
* Justin Edwards as Jack
* Hugh Futcher as Hans
* Nathan Ives-Moiba as Victor
* Ewens Abid as Abel
* Bijal Raj as Berrak
* Florencia Nunez as young Tuesday

## Production

[edit]

In May 2021, it was announced that the Croatian[4] director Daina Oniunas-Pusić would direct the film in her feature directorial debut, and that Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lola Petticrew, Arinzé Kene and Leah Harvey had joined the cast.[5][6][7]

Tuesday was co-produced between London-based Wild Swim Films and Gingerbread Pictures (which was founded by Helen Gladders, who served as one of the producers for the film), in association with Record Player Films (founded by Oliver Roskill, another one of this film's producers). Support and funding were provided by BBC Film, Creative England, BFI and US-based Cinereach (and with some additional funding originating from UK Government, according to the film's closing credits, namely HM Treasury and DCMS Film & TV Production Restart Scheme); with A24, BBC Film and BFI presenting the production.[2]

Principal photography began in the United Kingdom in June 2021, with Alexis Zabé serving as cinematographer;[8][9] filming wrapped in late July.[10]

## Release

[edit]

Tuesday had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on 1 September 2023.[11][12] It was also screened at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2023.[13]

The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 7 June 2024,[14] before expanding nationwide and to Canada on 14 June 2024.[2] It was released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom on 9 August 2024.[3]

## Reception

[edit]

### Box office

[edit]

In the UK, Tuesday grossed $5,025 from 14 cinemas during its opening weekend.[3]
In the USA, the film grossed $25,665 during its opening weekend from 2 theatres. As of August 2024[update], its revenue in North America was $706,683.[2]

### Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 111 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "A meditation on mortality full of risky stylistic gambits, Tuesday achieves real grace thanks to Julia Louis-Dreyfus' committed performance and director Daina Oninuas-Pusic's impressive ambition."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]

James Verniere of Boston Herald summarised in his positive review for Boston Movie News: "This striking debut film is like a live-action Studio Ghibli fable. Louis-Dreyfus is a revelation."[17] JD Duran of InSession Film was equally upbeat: "Tuesday is a deeply weird, but funny movie about not just confronting death but creating a relationship with it."[18]

Siddhant Adlakha gave the film a negative review on Mashable: "A confoundingly bad work of cinema. Has all the makings of a gentle fairytale about loss, but it ends up visually, narratively, and tonally janky at every possible turn."[19] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian echoed those sentiments: "As it is, the movie can’t quite bear to make the macaw properly funny, or properly scary. So the action exists in a tonal muddle."[20]

NPR included Tuesday on its list of the best movies and TV of 2024, with critic Aisha Harris writing that "Daina O. Pusić’s impressive directorial debut is a big swing that connects on every level, if you allow it to."[21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Tuesday (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
2. ^ a b c d e f "Tuesday (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
3. ^ a b c d "Tuesday (2023)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
4. ^ "Daina Oniunas Pusić | Redatelj/ica filma". Hrvatski film. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
5. ^ Galuppo, Mia (19 May 2021). "Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Star in A24 Movie Tuesday". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
6. ^ Kroll, Justin (19 May 2021). "Julia Louis-Dreyfus To Star In A24 Pic Tuesday; Lola Petticrew and Arinzé Kene Also On Board". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
7. ^ Kroll, Justin (27 May 2021). "Foundation's Leah Harvey Joins Julia Louis-Dreyfus In A24's Tuesday". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
8. ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – Tuesday". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
9. ^ "Alexis Zabe Shoots A24 Film Tuesday". Lux Artists. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
10. ^ Petticrew, Lola. "That's a wrap on Tuesday!!!!". Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021 - via Instagram.
11. ^ Davis, Clayton (30 August 2023). "Telluride Lineup Includes World Premieres of 'Saltburn,' 'The Bikeriders' and 'Rustin' With Tributes for Yorgos Lanthimos and Wim Wenders". Variety. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
12. ^ "Program Guide" (PDF). Telluride Film Festival. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
13. ^ "Tuesday". BFI London Film Festival. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
14. ^ Ntim, Zac (31 August 2023). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: 'The Book Of Clarence' World Premiere; Scorsese, Miyazaki, Lanthimos & Fincher Among Headline Galas". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
15. ^ "Tuesday". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
16. ^ "Tuesday". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
17. ^ "'Tuesday': Julia Louis-Dreyfus dances with Death in Daina Oniunas-Pusic's enchanting debut". 13 June 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
18. ^ "Podcast Review: Tuesday". 20 June 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
19. ^ "'Tuesday' review: An annoying fairy tale that will make you yearn for Death's sweet embrace". Mashable. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
20. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (7 August 2024). "Tuesday review – kooky macaw is angel of death for Julia Louis-Dreyfus in hipster silliness". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
21. ^ Deggans, Eric; Harris, Aisha; Holmes, Linda; Mondello, Bob; Weldon, Glen (10 December 2024). "The best movies and TV of 2024, picked for you by NPR critics". NPR. Retrieved 12 December 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Tuesday at IMDb