“Tuesday” is the title of a recent indie film (still in theaters) and the name of its main character. The unusual name recalls the day that can seem empty—lacking the energy of Monday and the celebratory release of Friday—while silently pregnant with all the stressors of the remaining work week. As a metaphor for this movie’s attitude toward human life, it is apt.

On the surface, Tuesday is a movie about death and the heroic struggle to accept its inevitability. Tuesday, the character, is a young woman who is dying, and her mother (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is refusing to cope. The simultaneously unsettling and entertaining factor is that Death is personified as a giant macaw that alternates in a fascinating way between ugly, terrifying, majestic, and even compassionate personas.  This is a creative re-imagining of the angel of death, although the movie doesn’t give any clues why the writers chose the form of a talking macaw.

Also somewhat entertaining (or at least intellectually provoking) is the myth that portrays Death as the active and, one might say, purposefully driven killer of all human beings whose fated time has, for whatever reason, arrived. The viewer’s mind is filled with questions: How does the parrot actually get to every dying person, especially for simultaneous deaths? Why does the parrot seem so stressed and motivated? Why is the parrot so ugly?

Ugliness. It pervades the entire movie. Death is no happy or transcending event, nor is it ushered in by any glorious agent. There are no welcoming arms for the dead, only emptiness. The same can be said for how the film presents life, which is repeatedly equated with suffering. The parrot Death supposedly exhibits redeeming qualities by compassionately killing all human beings who are suffering as they die. The film’s message here is clear: People would not cope or be released from their suffering if not for the decisive passing of Death’s wing over their poor heads.

The ugliness extends to several nasty statements about Christianity, Christ himself, and other religions. While seeing the film could be a good learning experience for teens, they will need careful guidance: This is not simply a fanciful depiction of the drama between a mother and her dying daughter, but a movie with a dark agenda, promoting harmful ideas and destructive behavior. Tuesday celebrates euthanasia. For everyone. This is evil.

It should not be surprising, given what I have said so far, that Tuesday devolves into gratuitous violence. Never mind that its victim is the Death-parrot, and that it serves a dramatic purpose by portraying the desperation of the mother to protect her child; the violence is graphic, intense, and disturbing. It seems as if the film’s writers forgot the positive and entertaining nature of fantasy itself, struggling under the dark shroud with which they have blanketed death—and life.

Watching—and deeply reflecting on—Tuesday can be an edifying experience, as it addresses important life questions and even makes us think about the nature and purpose of filmmaking. The movie is impressive for its special effects, complex and creative story line, and very good acting. I can’t say I regret having seen it. However, without serious reflection and healing prayer, this movie will leave you as empty as a never-ending Tuesday.