The cancer-themed Me and Earl and the Dying Girl revolves around three adolescent characters whose lives intersect in unanticipated ways. The young adult vehicle made a splash at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and an audience award.
Protagonist Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) is a white middle-class senior in a Pittsburgh high school. As Greg explains, he strives to carefully navigate the many social cliques at this high school. Rather than join any of them, he opts to peacefully co-exist with all of them.
Greg’s principal chum is Earl Jackson (RJ Cyler), an African American from a decidedly less affluent background. Ever since the two were young boys (Gavin Dietz as young Greg, Edward DeBruce III as young Earl), they shared a passion for film. They weren’t mere passive cinephiles. Instead, the two made their own amateur shorts, parodies with titles such as A Sockwork Orange, 2:48 Cowboy and Eyes Wide Butt. Surprisingly, this joke never becomes stale. Indeed, these shorts, intermittently inserted into the text of the film, are little gems.
Each day, Greg and Earl eat lunch together in the office of Mr. McCarthy (Jon Bernthal), a cool, heavily tattooed teacher, who offers inspiration. Despite their long and seemingly close relationship, Greg insists on referring to Earl as his “co-worker” rather than as his friend.
One day Greg learns that a classmate, Rachel Kushner (Olivia Cooke), has been diagnosed with leukemia. Years before, Greg had attended Hebrew school with Rachel. However, they have maintained only the most superficial of relationships. Besides, Greg is painfully shy with girls. Nevertheless, Greg’s mom (Connie Britton) and dad (Nick Offerman) insist that he start visiting his ailing classmate.
An awkward situation ensues as Greg starts his obligatory visits to Rachel. Her mother (Molly Shannon) expresses profuse gratitude, smothering Greg with unwelcome hugs and kisses. However, Greg is only showing up because his parents have issued a fiat that he do so. Rachel is well aware of this salient fact. Despite this initial discomfiture, the two slowly begin to develop a less guarded relationship.
At Earl’s insistence, Greg shares their collection of short films with Rachel. She gets a big kick of these quirky works, which help raise her spirits. How will they impact the dynamic between Greg and Rachel?
Jesse Andrews has written the film’s screenplay, which he adapted from his own 2012 debut novel of the same name. It captures the source novel’s heartfelt, funny tone. Previously, the film’s Mexican American director, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, made commercials, episodes of television shows and a single feature, The Town That Dreaded Sundown. In his sophomore feature venture, Gomez-Rejon manifests considerable growth. Both Mann and Cooke acquit themselves nicely in their respective roles. However, the gem here is Cyler, who steals the film with an extremely resonant performance.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl offers a stark contrast to last summer’s The Fault in Our Stars, another film about an adolescent afflicted with a terminal illness. It is a vastly better film with a more realistic story line as well as characters who are far more engaging.
Opens Friday, June 26, Oriental Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
