Review of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) by Corinna O — 13 Sep 2015

Ever since I heard about this movie and watched the trailer, I have been excited to see this. It felt like The Fault in our Stars except the girl is the only one who has cancer and it's not a love story. It's a film about life and movies.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is about a guy called Greg who is in his senior year at school and has gone his whole life not socialising with people because he doesn't want to have a connection with him. He even knows a guy named Earl who is just his co-worker because they make movies together. One day, his mother tells him to socialise with a girl called Rachel who has leukaemia and through her, he learns how important friendship is.

This movie confused me at the beginning but once I got into it, I loved it. I even want to watch it again. For me, I feel like I am Greg. My whole life I have tried to avoid people because I think that I am awkward. Even though I may have friends now, I don't actually see them as friends because other than one particular topic, I don't really talk to them about anything else. Like Greg, I am naive to the fact that if you talk to someone constantly, even if it may not be a diversed topic, they can still be your friend.

Rachel, the Dying Girl is so joyful and tries to have hope but sometimes, she just needs a little push like Earl. That's why their friendship is so important. Earl is the friend who makes sense of everything and tell it like it is. If someone doesn't like you, he'll say it. When he sees that Earl and Rachel's friendship is something that is important for both of them, he mentions it. Heck, he even calls Earl his friend even his calls him his co-worker and doesn't like the word 'friend'. I loved the comedy that they added. It could be off putting at times but when it is done right, it is great. The film doesn't shy away from the sad moments. I nearly found myself crying at the cinema a couple of times.

All the actors did an amazing job, no matter how big or small their roles may be. I also love the camera style. It reminds me of Wes Anderson movies and how they are filmed symmetrical. It's a great style used in an effective way. I like that the author wrote the screenplay as you know it is coming from a special place and from someone who cares about their work. The first I saw this was in The Perks of Being A Wallflower where the author was the Director and screenwriter.

This movie is something that I would like to rewatch.