I was lucky enough to catch Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl at an Odeon preview screening and found it to be a vibrant and insightful coming-of-age comedy drama which hugely exceeded my expectations. I’m not sure whether this is more predominantly due to how tired and uninspiring this sub-genre can be when handled poorly, or because of the obvious comparisons that can be drawn between the film’s premise and that of 2014’s The Fault In Our Stars, which was excruciating in its overly crass and predictable attempts at quirkiness and all too obvious emotional manipulation.
In all honesty, due to the low quality of similarly-angled films that came before it, I wasn’t holding out much hope for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it reminded me of 500 Days of Summer in the way that it rejuvenated its genre and deconstructed many of its typically-associated tropes.
Despite achieving this partially through protagonist narration, which was quite a predictable and slightly obnoxious choice, I left the cinema feeling satisfied at having been met with a film which not only presented interesting, multi-faceted and carefully crafted characters, but also commented on the challenges of teenage existence in a visually creative and nuanced way.
Another element of the film I particularly liked was protagonist, Gregg, and his childhood friend, Earl’s love of classic films and their numerous attempts at amateur filmmaking. This added even more texture to this film’s rich tapestry of artistic appreciation, developing the characters’ personalities and also driving the plot forwards as Gregg and Earl embark on a journey to creating a film for their friend, Rachel, who is suffering from cancer. The process becomes an existential odyssey of sorts, during which Gregg addresses his own self-hatred and disdain towards the world through his blossoming symbiotic friendship with Rachel.
Aesthetically, it was clear to see that the film’s cinematography had been heavily inspired by Wes Anderson, utilising bird’s eye camera angles, multiple panning shots and a beautiful colour palette. Its Brian Eno-infused soundtrack was also very reminiscent of the aforementioned director, and complimented the film’s tone perfectly. Whilst there were definitely moments where it strayed into well-trodden territory in terms of genre-typical aspects such as breaking down the high school hierarchy, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s charm stems from how darkly funny it is, and just how believably the characters and their situation are depicted. Full of authentic emotion, unexpected depth, and an array of excellent and idiosyncratic performances from its cast, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is one of the better films of 2015 and was a truly a joy to watch.
Words by Georgia Welch