Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the primary draw of Tuesday (now streaming on Max), but the real star of the film is Death. Yes, like in the Grim Reaper he/her/them/themselves, who in this particular – and particularly strange – film takes the form of a large macaw. Yes, like in Polly Wants A Cracker, but in this case it wants to collect your soul. Yes, as in your life force or energy or essence or whatever you want to call it, the fleshy sap that first-time feature writer and director Daina O. Pusic wants to explore through a story of a dying teenager, a mother in denial and their realization that a big bird who happens to be a hip-hop fan (no, really) has appeared in their lives to teach them something about life. Ironic, isn’t it?

TUESDAY: STREAM IT OR SKIP?

The essence: The first character we meet is Death, a CGI creation voiced by Arinze Kene, who I hope runs his line readings through some vocal processing effects or else he’ll have his throat shredded like Buscemi in the wood chipper. Death is a grimy, sooty macaw that can shrink to earwig size or to about moose height, although it usually stays somewhere in between. He has one battered, spotted eye and his feathers are battered and worn. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Dude did that seen some shit. We watch him fly here and there, giving suffering people eternal peace with a simple wave of his wing.

We then meet Tuesday (Lola Petticrew) as she lies quietly in bed, hooked up to medical monitors, an oxygen tube connected to her nose. A nurse (Leah Harvey) uses a hoist to lift Tuesday out of bed and into a wheelchair. The specifics of her malaise are never discussed, and we can guess, but who cares? It’s not good, and considering who we’ve met in scenes before, we know this is one of those situations where it’s only a matter of time. Tuesday’s mother, Zora (Louis-Dreyfus), should be working, but instead she trades strange heirlooms (stuffed rats) for cash and sits in a café, mindlessly scribbling in a notebook. Death by professional human society has long since waved its wings to its work. And so Zora barely exists here, in a vagueness of wide-eyed avoidance and denial.

Tuesday’s wheezing seems to summon the bird, which is tormented by a din of voices as countless suffering souls cry out to it to end their pain. But the girl is not afraid of death. He shrinks and she gently takes him in her palms and gives him a bath and he grows and gives her a hug. And while he claims he’s here today to fulfill his duty (“Please don’t kill me.” “I have to I have to I have to I have to.”), he also shows appreciation for the kindness she expressed. And before you know it, they’re subverting the heavy symbolism of accepting death in lowercase by rapping together to Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” and vaping cannabis. This is all well and good, but two things are unavoidable here: First, Zora will have to come to terms with her denial, and that may require confronting a giant macaw. And two, who takes care of Death’s duties while befriending a sweet dying girl? I mean, there must be some serious reapercussions for that.

What movies will it remind you of?: The kid-hanging-with-a-symbolic-entity thing is reminiscent of the rather underrated A monster calls while Louis-Dreyfus’s attempts to navigate the surreal existentialism of the situation vibes in an unusual way, such as Dream scenario.

Performances worth watching: Louis-Dreyfus takes a road less traveled here, establishing himself as a strong, worthy leading man in left-of-center films like this. Enough said And You hurt my feelings.

Memorable dialogue: “I understand this is confidential information.” – Zora returns to a question she asks Death: whether or not there is an afterlife or a god

Gender and skin: No.

Our opinion: Once the big talking bird-who-is-also-Death raps along with Cube, you know TuesdayIt will be divisive. Perhaps Pusic makes this all too self-consciously strange; perhaps she’s testing the limits of our tolerance for magical realism. But there’s no denying that it’s daring, and more than a little crazy, turning yet another Grief And Loss tearjerker into a dark, absurdist comedy that feels rooted in classic myths and aims to make profound observations about the inevitabilities of existence. It doesn’t quite come together tonally, and its irony is often exaggerated (for example, Tuesday is calm and, while strapped to an oxygen tank, she instructs everyone around her to breathe in and out through the anxiety attacks caused by her condition ), but you can’t help but admire the risks Pusic takes in pursuit of a distinctive vision.

What was not a risk? casting Louis-Dreyfus to anchor the film, playing a mother who cannot accept the reality before her eyes and has lost her footing. She is an absurd and tragic character who sells her possessions, quits her job and slowly tries to become nothing, hoping to no longer be able to feel all this pain, or perhaps sacrifice enough of herself to the great cosmic karmic universe. Tuesday on this planet. All of this is reflected in the subtext of Louis-Dreyfus’ performance, as the text explores the extremes of her avoidance and compulsive anger.

Meanwhile, the world around these people (and the bird) sours apocalyptically as Death disappears, and the implication is that Zora’s actions are an attempt to stop the world from turning, to keep her beloved daughter in stasis. That won’t happen. It doesn’t work that way. There are times when you feel distanced from the oddity you hold in your hands TuesdayBut when Louis-Dreyfus digs deep to find the love and strength hidden within her character, there is no choice but to feel moved by her suffering – and understand how surreal it is to be so alarming in the presence of the to be dead.

Our call: Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes the save Tuesday of being too weird or too sentimental. That is no small achievement. STREAM IT.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.