Sadie Sink has a bright future ahead of her. The rising young actress, who sprang to fame portraying Max Mayfield on Netflix’s Stranger Things, has since starred in many high-profile projects, including the Fear Street trilogy and last year’s All Too Well, a short film written and directed by Taylor Swift. Her performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has earned her Oscar buzz, and that’s just the beginning of her promising career. The sink is set to act in the upcoming independent family drama Dear Zoe, which is adapted from Philip Beard’s 2005 novel of the same name.
The official trailer for the film just premiered today, giving us our first glimpse at the actress in her newest leading role. Tess (Sink), an adolescent girl whose family breaks apart after she suffers a terrible loss, is the protagonist of Dear Zoe, which also stars Vivien Lyra Blair, Theo Rossi, Kweku Collins, Jessica Capshaw, and Justin Bartha. Trying to mend her broken heart, this young woman renews her relationship with her lazy biological father (Rossi), who finally wants to do the right thing by his daughter, and sparks a budding young romance with the attractive juvenile delinquent next door (Collins).
It’s easy to see how Sink’s soft and lived-in ability to play young women seeking to find their power and their own sense of self, even in a few heart-wrenching circumstances, is on full show in this charming independent film. For this writer’s part, it’s always a treat to see Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, included in a film. With its recent history of hosting coming-of-age plays in its suburban environs, this film may be a fitting tribute to that tradition.
It’s still too soon to tell if Dear Zoe will attract the same young audience that saw the movie versions of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Fault in Our Stars, but it’s easy to see how a picture like this may appeal to the same YA demographic that likes to have a heartwrenching time at the movies. Dear Zoe was shot in the fall of 2019, just before the pandemic, but has been slow to reach theatres. It’s probably for the best, though, considering Sink’s meteoric ascent in the acting world; the increased visibility of such a promising young talent bodes well for the box office success of even a little picture like this. With the autumn release of Dear Zoe, it would help immensely if Sink received award buzz for her supporting role in The Whale. The actress is only getting started in her career. On November 4th, Dear Zoe will be available in select cinemas and on video on demand.