Hope is the thing with feathers, wrote Emily Dickinson.

In Tuesday, coming soon from A24, the thing with feathers is a shape-shifting scarlet macaw, that pushes, prods and consoles Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as she cares for her terminally-ill daughter, Tuesday, played by Lola Petticrew (Dating Amber).

The macaw, voiced by Arinzé Kene (I’m Your Woman), represents capital-D Death in the film. The bird, which can change size at will, appears first to Tuesday, but then tries to help Zora accept her daughter’s prognosis.

“Madam, you need to say goodbye to your daughter,” Death intones in the trailer. “Life — every life — ends.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Tuesday. Image courtesy A24.

While Zora seems to have embraced her role as Tuesday’s caretaker, she still has not made peace with her daughter’s waning amount of time on Earth, in this drama about the reality of loss and finding resilience, and perhaps even hope, in the mysteries of death.

The film is written and directed by Daina Oniunas-Pusic in her feature film debut. She previously gained acclaim during the 2015 Telluride Film Festival for her short film The Beast. Tuesday premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on September 1st and is expected to get a theatrical release sometime this summer. 

Big bird. Image courtesy A24.