The scenes Martin-Green shares with Harris, of the "suck-it-up" school of processing grief, and Morales, irreverent and irresistible as Zoe's livewire ghost, spark with an energy that also underlines how easy it is to leave the mental challenges of returning soldiers unaddressed.

In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” actor Natalie Morales is stepping into one of her most challenging roles yet. The dark comedy drama follows U.S. Army veteran Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), who keeps seeing her dead friend Zoe (Morales) who died in combat during the Afghanistan war.

The director of 'My Dead Friend Zoe' talks about his film and why military veterans deserve better representation in front of and behind the camera.