Capsule reviews for Feb. 26

Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry

Devotees of the brooding teenage pop star should appreciate this deep dive behind-the-scenes, although outsiders might not understand the fuss. The documentary follows Eilish throughout the creative process for her 2019 debut album, chronicling how the demands of a budding superstar performer clash with the constraints of angst-ridden contemporary adolescence. As he follows Eilish and her entourage on the road, in the recording studio, and at home with family, director R.J. Cutler (The September Issue) crafts an intimate portrait that provides sufficient insight into its subject while also remaining curiously guarded. Eilish’s talent and engaging screen presence keep this from feeling like too much, too soon. (Rated R, 140 minutes).

My Zoe

Some intriguing concepts about guilt and grief never emotionally cohere in this uneven drama from actor-director Julie Delpy. She stars as Isabelle, a Berlin geneticist struggling to co-parent her preteen daughter (Sophia Ally) after an acrimonious separation from her domineering husband (Richard Armitage). After a tragic incident pushes her to the limit, Isabelle desperately tries to test the limits of medical ethics. Delpy’s screenplay feels like two films crammed together, with the result more effective in its first half as a portrait of a fractured family navigating difficult circumstances. However, its abrupt transition is more manipulative than moving. The cast includes Daniel Bruhl and Gemma Arterton. (Rated R, 102 minutes).

The Obituary of Tunde Johnson

When you’re a black gay teenager living in the suburbs, the deck is stacked against you even before you wake up in the morning. That’s the predicament facing the title character in this meditative low-budget character study, in which a gimmicky structure mutes the cumulative emotional impact. Tunde (Steven Silver) is a kind but misunderstood Nigerian immigrant in California who gets stuck in a time loop, forced to relive — and torturously re-examine — the day he came out to his family and later died at the hands of police. Despite a deeply felt portrayal by Silver (“13 Reasons Why”), the heartfelt result is more muddled than provocative. (Not rated, 104 minutes).

Sophie Jones

Like its title character, this tender coming-of-age saga is sassy yet sincere. Sophie (Jessica Barr) is an Oregon teen navigating typical insecurities, including relationship awkwardness, best friends and boyfriends, sexual awakenings, an annoying older sister, physical and emotional maturity, and classmate gossip. Plus, she’s still processing her mother’s recent death and pondering her uncertain future. That’s familiar territory, but the heartfelt screenplay by Barr and her cousin Jessie, who also makes her directorial debut, is sensitive and sharply observed. Both specific and universal, the resulting examination of the highs and lows of girlhood is choppy but quietly powerful. The younger Barr’s understated portrayal resonates with authenticity. (Not rated, 85 minutes).

The Vigil

Hasidic customs collide with horror tropes to unsettling effect in this creepy psychological thriller that feels more fresh than familiar. Jakov (Dave Davis) is a cash-strapped Brooklyn bachelor questioning his faith when he’s persuaded by a persistent rabbi (Menashe Lustig) to take an overnight job watching the corpse of a deceased Holocaust survivor overnight despite objections from the widow (Lynn Cohen). When Jakov begins to hear strange noises, he’s confronted by a malevolent force that prompts him to confront a past tragedy. An appealing performance by Davis overcomes some arbitrary twists in the screenplay by rookie director Keith Thomas. But it successfully builds an atmospheric tension. (Rated PG-13, 89 minutes).