WARNING….. Go and grab those tissue boxes because no doubt you are going to need them as this film will reduce you to tears, more than once, but i definitely didn’t cry…..
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a coming of age indie film and is an adaptation of the book of the same name. Essentially it is a story about Greg, who sparks an unlikely friendship with a girl who has just been diagnosed with cancer and you get to watch their friendship and how it develops and how it affects them throughout the course of the film. It is an extremely emotionally powerful film that really gets you to understand everything these characters are going through and how the impact of something like cancer can greatly affect yourself and the people around you.
The film did an astounding job at making these characters incredibly real, you believe these are real people and that you are watching a documentary on their lives because it does a fantastic job at making them relatable and vulnerable to emotion. The film is really driven by emotions, and how you actually experience sections of the film is directly related to how some of the characters are feeling. So you have many moments that are lighter and more fun and then you have some more deeper depressing scenes that will undoubtedly hit you right in the feels. And it is a very interesting progression as the film continues and the overall tone changes in the film that it can send you on this emotional roller-coaster.
As i just mentioned, there were tonnes of well balanced tonal shifts throughout the film where it was able to make you laugh at some of Greg’s awkwardness and then hit you with some real emotional stuff. It did very well at controlling the more light-hearted funny moments with some more heavy moments and you get the full experience of these scenes the whole time. The incredibly emotional story told is only enhanced by the absolutely amazing cinematography and musical score and seeing them work together in this film is on its own so fascinating. Watching as the long, slowly panning shots are accompanied by some some amazingly well crafted scores was just beautiful, even if literally nothing was happening on-screen it still had my full attention.
But the emotional strength of the film would not have come through as strongly if it was with any other cast imaginable, because i believe this was pretty much perfect casting. Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, and R.J Cyler were astounding at capturing the emotions and relationships of these characters to the point where when i see those actors in other films i will think of these roles because they were so powerful. Even some of the supporting cast were very strong choices and put in great performances to enhance those three main roles. We also do get a little hilarious cameo from one of Australia’s own, it’s quick but was a really good laugh.
In the end, i cannot recommend this film enough, if coming of age, emotional dramas are your thing then you will love this. If that is not your type of film then of-course this isn’t going to change your mind. But it really is funny, emotionally powerful and just a well crafted, well directed film. – 8.7
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