Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Released:  June 12^th, 2015

Rated:  PG-13

Distributor:  20^th Century Fox

Starring:  Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, Ronald Cyler II, Jon Bernthal, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton

Directed by:  Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Written by:  Jesse Andrews

Personal Bias Alert:  haven’t read the book, wasn’t excited for it

7.5 of 10

            Everybody likes a pleasant surprise, and despite its massive success at the Sundance Film Festival (it won the grand jury and audience awards), Me and Earl and the Dying Girl still manages to surprise.  There are things you expect from a Sundance film, like a good heart, a tinge of sadness, and quirks galore.  Me and Earl, unsurprisingly, ticks all these boxes, but it also manages to deliver the kind of honest, complicated message that many Sundance films shy away from.

            As the title indicates, this film is about a trio of high school friends:  Greg (Thomas Mann), Earl (RJ Cyler II), and Rachel (Olivia Cooke).  Although, it’s more about how they become friends.  Greg is the kind of person who keeps people at arm’s length, so despite knowing Earl for many years, they aren’t exactly friends at the start.  Rachel is even further removed from the group, a simple acquaintance of the two boys until the combination of leukemia and a pushy mom forces them to become closer.  As they spend time together and develop a genuine relationship, Rachel’s illness makes all of them go into some very personal places.

            This film is being flippantly described as an indie version of The Fault in our Stars, but, having seen both films, that doesn’t feel quite right.  The Fault in our Stars is the story of a girl finding closure at the end of her life.  Me and Earl is about a boy figuring out how to live his.  What the two films identify as the vital part of life is subtly different, Fault being a bit narrower and Earl being a bit broader.  What’s the same is that both films weave their smart message into very conventional plots, making the consumption of these truths more palatable.

            Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is still relatively new to the director’s chair, but he apes indie quirk well.  He’s clearly seen all the right films, particularly Wes Anderson’s catalogue, and set up his shots and story beats to match what he’s seen.  This gives the whole film a solid, familiar feel that’s both attractive and unimpressive.  Gomez-Rejon certainly put in the effort; many shots feature elaborate camera moves through crowds of people while adhering to that trademark Anderson symmetry, but none of it bears the mark of an original idea.  Without that, even the most well-constructed film will feel a bit dull.

            Writer Jesse Andrews is another newcomer, his only works being this screenplay and the novel on which it’s based.  Again, the inexperience shows in his ability to mimic the elements of a good indie without the finesse needed to balance them.  There’s too much quirk, especially in the early goings, which keeps its world a bit removed from the audience.  It’s hard to completely buy a film that’s so manufactured, but luckily the tone modulates just in time to deliver a few honest scenes between its three characters.  The quirk is still there, mind you, it just takes a step back to allow the characters their moment in the sun.

            And shine they do thanks to the excellent trio of young actors portraying them.  Mann had a particularly tough role as the titular Me, a potentially tiresome middle-class white boy complaining about problems that he’s created.  But Mann and writer Andrews root the character’s problems in the fear of inadequacy, something we can all relate to and hence excuse.  Cyler’s Earl and Cooke’s Rachel are primarily there to flesh out and push Greg, but these relationships aren’t simple.  Both actors are able to get across their simultaneous annoyance and affection for Greg, and these complications make them feel like real people instead of pawns in Greg’s life.

            The ending of Me and Earl contains a beautifully empathetic scene.  The whole ending is spectacularly done, but it’s that one scene that has stuck with me.  The film’s an oddball in that it grew on me after I walked away.  Normally, films fade from the mind after they end, but if there’s a real emotional truth to them, they’ll linger in my head.  Me and Earl managed just that.

Other Notes:

Ø  I really like the music and sound editing in this film, but it was a massive mistake to use a song from Friday Night Lights at the end.

Ø  This film butters up its audience by constantly referencing other movies.

Ø  That montage of the different ways Rachel smiles is outstanding.