When You Finish Saving The World Trailer: An Emotional Comedy With A Sharp Eye On The Human Condition

Though he's perhaps best known for his turn as Mark Zuckerberg in the 2010 drama "The Social Network," Jesse Eisenberg is an even more astute writer than he is an actor. His debut feature film, "When You Finish Saving The World," is forthcoming from everyone's favorite studio (A24, duh) and we finally have the very first trailer for the project.

In the footage for the comedy, we meet Evelyn (played by Julianne Moore) and her eccentric son, Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard), who couldn't be more at odds in their day-to-day lives. It looks as though Ziggy's mother meets someone she feels she can help, while Evelyn's son makes strides to connect with a girl at school — and naturally, these two shake-ups bring out the problems at the core of their bond. 

A24 gave an official synopsis of the film:

Evelyn has devoted herself to helping people in hard times, but she struggles to connect with her son Ziggy, an aspiring internet star oblivious to the problems of the world. As Evelyn attempts to become a parent figure to an unassuming teenager she meets at her shelter, and Ziggy fumbles through his pursuit of a brilliant and politically conscious young woman at his high school, this emotional comedy reveals a funny and sharply perceptive portrait of a mother and son who may seem at odds but who are more alike than either would care to admit.

Alongside Moore and Wolfhard, Alisha Boe and Jay O. Sanders round out the supporting cast. Eisenberg directs from a script he wrote.

The film has already had a bit of life on the festival circuit, but I was starting to wonder if it would ever actually see the light of day — and considering Eisenberg's pull in the industry, I was surprised a film of his would end up down that road. I'm happy to find out that it won't.

The movie premiered at Sundance in January 2022, though it had a virtual showing there because of COVID-19 restrictions. It went on to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in person a few months later in May as part of the Semaine de la Critique (or Critics Week) section. I saw the film there, and I was pleasantly surprised by its charm and impact. I've seen several of Eisenberg's theatre works in the past, so I'm familiar with the tone of his writing, but this film has the added bonus of its cast. The cast shapes the film's message and motives—and though they might be hard to stand a lot of different junctures in the story, they were written that way. Furthermore, that choice was made because of what that satirical lens says about family, connection, and the weight of the world around us. Eisenberg has a very unique and unabashed creative eye, and it's a real joy to see this film finally get a full release. 

"When You Finish Saving The World" will arrive in theaters in the United States on January 20, 2023.