Review of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) by Nima S — 13 Sep 2015

Based on a novel by Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the first feature-length film by talented director Alfonso Gomez Rejon. The film was a favorite in the Sundance film festival and has been praised for its unique take on a story that has been told in numerous young adult novels and movies. Similar to last year's The Fault In Our Stars, the main theme is cancer but this one relies on humor and oddball characters to tell its story. The end result is a funny, quirky and charming film that entertains audience members with ease, even though it doesn't fully recover from some minor missteps.

Greg (Thomas Mann) is a film-loving, funny, charming middle class teenager who has spent high school trying to fit in with every clique, and who has sacrificed building (or acknowledging) his own friendships along the way. When a girl from school (Olivia Cooke) is diagnosed with cancer, Greg's mum pressures him to spend time with her, and he ends up bringing his "co-worker" Earl (RJ Cyler) along - a kid from the poorer side of town, and the only other person Greg hangs out with. Since they were children, Greg and Earl have spent every lunch break watching films, and every weekend making them; and when the popular girl Madison cajoles them into making one for Rachel before she dies, Greg is powerless to resist. Dappled with on-trend pop cultural references and crafty stop-motion animations, meaningful connections and life-lessons ensue.

From the opening scenes, we are introduced to the unique look of the film with extreme wide camera angles, which make it clear that this is a film about perspective and people's distance from each other. The occasional inclusion of homemade stop motion animated scenes and the micro budget parody films made by the two leads, adds to the charming look of the film. It opens strongly with characters being introduced properly and the scenes are sometimes divided by chapter titles that make the narrative constantly interesting to follow. The story sounds clichéd and overdone but Rejon's direction and the great performances from the lead cast members bring a level of self-awareness that works well for the most part. What brings the film down however, is occasional pretentious dialogue and a self-important feel to some of the scenes and events. For instance, most characters in Craig and Rachel's situation would typically fall in love, making their difficult situation even more emotional. But Greg's narration announces multiple times that this is not that kind of a story. The film actually shows us the clichéd versions of some scenes and then cuts to its presumably smart twist on the situation as if it's telling us: Hey, see what we did there? That is a shame because the film is ultimately a simple tale about typical problems of growing up and teenage dramas, and the need for pushing it to be something more important than that feels unnecessary.

What mostly keeps the film together is the strong cast. Thomas Mann is fantastic in the lead role and manages to portray Greg as a funny, charming but self-hating teenager beautifully. Olivia Cooke is also great and believable as the character that keeps the drama going but doesn't necessarily appear in every scene. RJ Cyler's character on the other hand, acts mostly as the comic relief and that's a shame because his role could have been much more developed because sometimes, his lifestyle seems more intriguing than Craig's, but we never get a chance to know much more about him.

Overall, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a charming indie drama with great moments of humor, warmth and relatable characters. The young cast is amazingly talented and appealing, we will see much more of them in the future for sure. The execution seems problematic here and there and sometimes we may wonder if its heart is in the right place, but it manages to make many other things work and that is good enough to recommend it to movie goers.