Saving Zoë movie storyline. It’s been a year since her older sister’s murder, and Echo is still far from being completely all right. Echo has been trying her hardest to be the strong one, while her mother takes too many antidepressants and her father works too much. Now, at the start of her freshman year of high school, Echo receives an unlikely gift from Zoe’s old boyfriend: her diary. Echo is hesitant to read it but can’t put it down after she gets caught up in Zoe’s secret life.
Saving Zoë is an American drama and suspense film, based on the novel of the same name by Alyson Noël. It was directed by Jeffrey Hunt and starred Laura Marano and Vanessa Marano. It was released in the United States on July 12, 2019 in theaters. In Spain it was released in October of the same year on Amazon Prime Video.
About the Story
Echo, a high school freshman, is attempting to come to terms with the loss of her older sister, Zoë, who was murdered a year ago. On Echo’s first day of school, many students gawk at her or make comments as she walks by, while a few, including her crush Parker, approach her to offer their condolences. Echo’s mother has been abusing antidepressants while her father works overtime. They regularly visit a family therapist, though Echo finds the sessions to be largely unhelpful.
One day, while sitting with her best friend Abby at lunch, Echo sees Zoë’s boyfriend, Marc. Abby tells Echo that Marc had spent some time in a psychiatric hospital in the wake of Zoë’s death. Marc was a prime suspect in Zoë’s murder, and though the actual killer, an internet predator had confessed and was convicted, Echo still suspects Marc was involved. One day, while walking home, Echo comes across Marc’s new car, and sees Zoë’s diary in the passenger seat. She shatters the window with a nearby rock to retrieve the diary, and brings it home with her.
Once Echo begins reading, she learns that Zoë and Marc had met at a pool party over the summer. Marc’s a recovering addict and doesn’t indulge in drugs or alcohol. They began a relationship, and Zoë confessed to Marc her plans to move to Los Angeles or New York after graduation and begin a modeling career. Marc shares a secret of his own – his ex-girlfriend had gone to rehab in Colorado after breaking up with him, and her parents got a restraining order against him. Marc insists that he has changed and that his past mistakes shouldn’t define him, though Echo remains suspicious of him.
Echo and Abby go to a house party hosted by Abby’s crush, Chess. The party is awkward and underwhelming, but Echo escapes outside with Parker. They make small talk, and the subject of Zoë eventually surfaces. Parker apologizes, but Echo insists she isn’t offended. Parker assures Echo that the reason people act strange around her is out of fear of causing her more pain than she has already been subjected to. Echo kisses him before they go back inside.
Echo attends her first school dance, leading to an encounter with Carley, Zoë’s best friend, who persuades Echo to drink and take ecstasy with her. During her drug trip, Echo rushes to the bathroom, where she sees an apparition of Zoë, who urges her to stop pretending. Later, Carley runs into Echo and, mistaking her for Zoë in her high state, apologizes to her profusely, mentioning something about an unnamed male and a video.
This encounter distresses Echo, who’s found and comforted by Marc. Another flashback sequence shows Marc being interviewed by the police in front of Echo and her parents. It’s revealed that Zoë’s body was found in Marc’s car, which he said she borrowed and didn’t tell him why. Marc, feeling guilty for his unintentional part in Zoë’s death, later attempted suicide via gunshot to the head, only to be stopped by his mother.
Echo continues reading Zoë’s diary. Another flashback reveals Zoë and Carley taking photographs of each other in bikinis to help build their modeling portfolios. Carley invited Zoë to hang out with a 24-year-old named Jason and his friend Tom, and she finally gave in after several attempts to decline. She tried to leave, but the others convinced her to stay for just one drink. Zoë returned home visibly traumatized, and fell asleep in Echo’s bed, ominously writing in her diary that Something happened that night. The next morning, she showed Echo a photo of Jason, and gravely made her promise to avoid him if she ever saw him.
Back in the present, Echo calls Carley, who invites her to a party at her friend Theresa’s house. Echo arrives dressed in Zoë’s clothes, where she meets Jason, and instantly recognizes him from the photo and diary entries. Carley is visibly uncomfortable at Jason’s presence,while Marc suddenly appears and drags Echo out of the party, urging that he’s taking her home. Echo argues with him, claiming that the only reason she’s at the party is to uncover the truth about what happened to Zoë.
Marc drops Echo at home, only for her to sneak back out and go to The Hunt, a nightclub Carley and Jason had mentioned earlier. This is interspersed with a flashback scene of Zoë at the same club. Zoë found Jason in the back party room, agreeing to make a deal with him. A distressed Zoë fled soon after, interspersed with a scene of Echo doing the same after noticing Jason. Echo then begins wearing Zoë’s clothes to school, immediately drawing attention from the other students.
The next entry in Zoë’s diary details a fight between her and Carley. The exact details of what happened at Jason’s are unknown, but Zoë was upset about having been forced to do something she didn’t want to, although Carley retained that it was all completely voluntary. Zoë was also convinced that whatever happened at Jason’s would come back to haunt them, though Carley insisted nobody would find out.
The following entry states that Zoë had bought Echo her own diary as a birthday gift and hid it in her sock box in her closet. Echo goes to retrieve the diary, opens the still wrapped gift and upon reading Zoë’s message, breaks down in tears. Echo finally snaps at her next family therapy session, calling out her parents for their unhealthy coping mechanisms and angrily asserting that they all should have been more aware of Zoë’s private life.
Echo then goes to meet Marc at his and Zoë’s usual meeting spot, where Marc confides that he didn’t know about Jason until he read Zoë’s diary. Echo tells him about her encounter with Carley at the dance, and tells him of her plans to break into Jason’s house to retrieve the video that Carley had mentioned, using Marc as a diversion. After school the next day, Echo goes to Jason’s house with Carley, though Carley seems apprehensive about letting her do so. Parker insists on going with Marc once he realizes that Echo may be in trouble.
Saving Zoë (2019)
Directed by: Jeffrey Hunt
Starring: Laura Marano, Vanessa Marano, Chris Tavarez, Giorgia Whigham, Michael Provost, Nathaniel Buzolic, Ken Jeong, Annie Jacob, Evan Castelloe, Whitney Goin, London Summers
Screenplay by: Brian J. Adams, LeeAnne H. Adams, Alyson Noel
Production Design by: Adriana Serrano
Cinematography by: Cory Geryak
Film Editing by: John Ganem
Costume Design by: Mauricia Grant
Art Direction by: Christine Cangelosi
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violence/rape, nudity, language, drug use, drinking, and brief sexuality – all involving teens.
Distributed by: Blue Fox Entertainment
Release Date: December 12, 2019
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