ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL Review Me and Earl and the Dying Girl review by Josef Rodriguez. The American cancer comedy has almost become a yearly staple at this point, with its better entries – Funny People, 50/50, The Fault in Our Stars – easily overshadowing their more offensive and thoughtless counterparts (I’m looking at you, A Little Bit of Heaven). But, through all of these films, there hasn’t been one quite like Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s new movie, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The titular Me is a high school senior named Greg (Thomas Mann) who, alongside his best friend and business partner Earl (RJ Cyler), spends his days making micro-budget parodies of his favorite movies. Greg has quite nearly made a career out of never having a meaningful connection with anyone in his life. Afraid to even refer to Earl as his friend, Greg has spent years cultivating amicable but hopelessly shallow relationships with every clique in school, effectively avoiding all conflict with no need for further interaction. In some sociopathic kind of way, it’s actually impressive. But when his mother (Connie Britton) forces him to go visit Rachel (Olivia Cooke) – a peer of Greg’s who’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer – Greg realizes that there may be more to life than loneliness, isolation, and Werner Herzog. Brilliantly written by Jesse Andrews – who also penned the film’s source material – and impeccably shot by cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung, Gomez-Rejon’s second feature film is a success on nearly every conceivable level. Led by a career-best performance from the young but talented Thomas Mann, he’s supported by two of the best young actors working today. RJ Cyler, who makes his feature film debut, successfully avoids racial and cultural stereotypes while never forgetting to look and feel and act like a real person. Olivia Cooke, on the other hand, puts on one of the most convincing American accents in any movie of recent memory. Not only that, she successfully portrays the denial, the joy (which Gomez-Rejon is not afraid to supply), and the ultimate despair of living with a terminal illness. Rejon’s characters are never afraid to shoot back with a clever quip, a witty remark, or a sharp observation, but none of it ever feels constructed or artificial. One gets the notion that the dialogue between the characters is actually how high schoolers do speak, and the particularly emotional conversations are never punctuated by both characters knowing exactly what to say. They’re messy, painful, and they hurt to watch in all the right ways. One particularly brilliant scene – comprised mostly of one shot – expresses the real implications of someone realizing they’re going to die, accepting that reality, and trying to make those around them understand. Cinephiles, too, are in for a real treat. In a Hollywood where a character known as a “movie fanatic” never seems to engage with anything deeper than The Godfather, seeing these characters indulge in Roeg, Fassbinder, Herzog, Ozu, Kubrick, and many more is really a treat. The parodies themselves are hilarious – including a Kubrick lampoon entitled Eyes Wide Butt – but also feel like genuine celebrations of the films they’re referencing. Reportedly, both actors were required to watch all of the films being parodied, and it shows. The boys have a real understanding of what makes these films so intrinsic to cinematic culture, and it radiates through the screen. In its best moments, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl feels like a miracle of sorts. It manages to balance tone, humor, irresistible style, and raw human emotion into a beautifully paced and accomplished feature film from one of the most exciting new voices in cinema. If this film is any indication of what’s to come from all parties involved, then lovers of cinema need not worry, the future is in good hands. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is now playing in theaters.
