Zach Woods’s directorial debut, The Accompanist, is a comedy-drama about foster care that is heartwarming at times, devastating at others, and solid on all ends — and brought to the next level by a strong Susan Sarandon role and a formidable child performance from Everly Carganilla.
We start the film with Emily, a 12-year-old girl living in New Jersey with her grandfather, who is battling dementia. One day, after a near-car crash, Emily is taken from her home by well-meaning but clumsy social worker Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) to be relocated with a temporary caretaker. That caregiver is Sylvia (Susan Sarandon), a woman who tells a lot of weird jokes, has a hands-off approach to looking after Emily, and drops hints at a mysterious past. The film follows the unlikely bond of the child taken away from her home and the reluctant caretaker, as they learn to understand one another’s quirks and troubles.
Everly Carganilla, as Emily, is undoubtedly the star of the show, bringing the subtle complexities of a child who understands more than she lets on. In an early scene, when Emily approaches a nurse to ask for medication after a bout of her grandfather’s dementia, she lies by saying that she had been forgetting things. Numerous times in the film, we see Emily sticking supporting her grandfather with fierce loyalty, including adamantly defending his mental state against social workers, but Carganilla’s expressions demonstrate a clear concern for her grandfather despite following his orders.
Sarandon, as Sylvia, matches her co-star’s depth. When Emily is first dropped off at her door, hesitant to enter, Sylvia doesn’t do much more than stare at her and leave the door ajar for her to enter whenever. Emily wanders to a nearby park alone and ends up hiding under a playground slide until dusk, and when Sylvia appears, she hands her a bag of food and water instead of beckoning Emily into the home. This comes off as neglectful at first, but Sylvia gives Emily the agency she hadn’t been afforded prior, not while taking care of her grandfather nor being taken away by Sarah.
Of course, the two begin to develop a bond, based on going to diners, shopping at stores, and making silly jokes with another. But while the film is mostly a straightforward drama-comedy, Woods occasionally brings in flashes of surrealism to hint at the idea that things are not as simple as they seem on the surface: Most commonly, these occur when Sylvia enters a waking nightmare just by walking into a room, usually involving her daughter. Other moments are more joyful: After their first successful outing at a diner, Sylvia and Emily begin flying across New Jersey as Etta James’ “At Last” plays, representing a turning point in their care for one another in the most magical way possible.
Sylvia and Emily are both hiding things, as much from themselves as they are one another. Throughout the film, Sylvia makes references to her daughter who died at a young age, which flares up in the form of abrasive flashbacks. Meanwhile, Emily’s grandfather, in his delirious state, makes enigmatic references to Emily’s mother, and audiences are reminded to wonder why Emily doesn’t live with her parents. The Accompanist reveals itself to have a dual nature: A heartwarming story about two alike souls finding company with one another, as well as a mystery unraveling about the pasts that burden both characters.
Woods, who’s most known for acting in sitcoms The Office and Silicon Valley, brings the charm and the comedy expected of his background, but keeps a fine balance with its more somber explorations of familial relationships and its surrealist interludes. The Accompanist is certainly a movie to catch upon release with standout performances from Carganilla and Sarandon, and the screenplay manages to subvert some familiar-seeming themes in subtle, unexpected ways.
Our team is on site for the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, from June 3 to 14, 2026.
