Review // Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

I have no idea how to start this review. While that opening line alludes to the film itself, it’s also accurate, I don’t want to over hype Me and Earl and the Dying Girl but to the same affect I want to give it it’s due. Me and Earl is a great film and one that’s easy to fall for. It has endearing characters, a wonderful cast, an excellent script and incredible production design. The direction is spot on and every pixel of the frame is put to good use. See, I’ve already started over hyping it. The simple fact is, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a good watch (even when you’re ugly crying your way through it) and it’s a well made film – these are the reasons it won the Audience Choice and Grand Jury prizes at Sundance, it’s also why you should see it.

Greg (Thomas Mann) is an awkward high school senior who has spent the last four years going deliberately unnoticed. When a classmate (Olivia Cooke) is diagnosed with leukemia his mother forces him to spend time with her. Much to his surprise, Greg soon develops an actual friendship with Rachel (or the titular Dying Girl). To date he only has one other friend, Earl (RJ Cyler), although Greg prefers to call Earl his co-worker since the pair make films (homages to classic works of cinema) in their spare time. Another classmate, and the subject of Greg’s fantasies, Madison (Katherine C. Hughes) suggests that Greg and Earl make a video for Rachel to help her cope with her treatment. As the pair attempt to make their first original work Greg finds his new friendship is threatening his carefully constructed anonymity.

Me and Earl is a very honest portrayal of the teenage experience of school, friendship, family, life and death. Jesse Andrews wrote the novel (of the same title) that the film is based on and also penned the screenplay. The script is strong, it’s clear he’s lived with these characters for a long time. But the succinct story is only part of the movie puzzle – well written characters will only take you as far as the actors playing them and Me and Earl has an incredible cast of mostly unknown young actors hungry to make their mark. Cooke was so determined to keep the authenticity of the film that she shaved her head for the role. This is Cyler’s first major role and he brings an honest personality to Earl: a down to earth kid, who is wise beyond his years, but is still very much a teenager. Mann did such a good job I actually can’t imagine him as anyone other than Greg. While it might be a backwards sort of compliment think of your favourite television characters – do you ever think of the actor who plays them? Mann managed to make that connection as Greg that most actors need 5+ seasons to do. Best of all is the incredible supporting cast which includes Connie Britton and Nick Offerman as Greg’s parents. Two actors who are splendid on the regular, and even better together. Jon Bernthal has a nice turn as Greg and Earl’s history teacher Mr. McCarthy, an educator unlike any other (he’s heavily tattooed, has a love of pho and even a personal motto “respect the research”). Molly Shannon is perfect as the increasingly drunken Mrs. Kushner (call her Denise), Rachel’s single mother. Shannon manages to mingle overwhelming grief with utter hilarity. 

The production value of Me and Earl is fantastic. First off – there’s the cinematography and paired with that is the actual production design. Whether it’s Rachel’s note to Greg sitting on his bookshelf at the start of the film, or that Earl and Greg’s films actually look like they were shot by kids with iPhones (and not a whole production team) or simply a camera tilt or pan that cleverly gets us from one scene to another, every aspect of this film was carefully constructed and adds to the final product. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has proved to be quite the puzzle master, uniting many moving pieces into a truly harmonious whole.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.