Tiltle: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) – No Spoilers!
Characters and acting: One of the biggest pro's I can give this this movie is that all of the characters felt real in their motivations, reactions, emotions and the way they delivered their lines. The main character is portrayed by Thomas Mann. I haven't seen him in any other films, but judging by his age, he has a great career to look forward to. His chemistry with Rachel (played by Olivia Cooke) is spectacular. Not only is the build up done so well, but the way they deliver lines at each other and how the create inside jokes is a pleasure to witness on screen. I could talk for ages about the great actors in this movie, but the best way to describe them is 'real'.
Story and Dialogue: The story is surprisingly simple, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the execution of it has been done with care. Thankfully the filmmakers knew about the fact that you have probably heard this story numerous times, so they found a believable way to sort of make fun of it without taking away from the tone. The dialogue is often so fun and relate able. It is filled with clever jokes or comments about high school, life or sickness. This is the type of movie where you want to grab your phone or your notes every few minutes to write down that awesome quote.
Editing and Pacing: In these types of movies I'm always kind of nervous if there isn't a long middle-part where the pace hugely goes down. The length is as perfect as it can be. If it was longer it could have become boring and if it was shorter it would have been too rushed. In the terms of editing it has definitely some stand-out moments, there are some really fun stop-motion segments or creative filmmaking bits (keeping things vague because of spoilers).
Cinematography and Effects: The cinematography in this film is just lovely to watch. Not only are there some really neat camera tricks but it makes use of the entire screen instead of just the middle. Aside from that, the colors and the symmetry in the short look awesome, it actually manages to make high school look beautiful. Also a lot of repetition is found between several shots with different meanings, you can really see that the filmmakers put effort in making a film with usage of visual ques to tell a story.
Rewatchability: In a lot of movies like this I feel like there normally isn't much rewatchability value. Once you finally know what's going to happen it could make your second viewing less interesting. I feel like the value in this film is much greater though, mostly because of the combination of great characters mixed with genuine dialogue. I was so invested in the characters that I would mind seeing them a second, third or perhaps even a fourth time. In terms of foreshadowing, there is quite a lot of it, some of it in some small character moments that you wouldn't even notice when paying not enough attention. This would definitely make your second watching worth wile.
Deeper Meaning or Motives/Themes: This movie has quite a lot to say about dealing with illness (obviously), finding your place in school or in your social life, having friends, showing yourself and being who you are and showing your creativity.
Tone: The tone of the movie is so interesting. I should say it's a drama, but on the other hand, this movie is funny as hell, but I also wouldn't consider this a comedy. It's like a drama with great comedic elements. Aside from that the tone is really consistent and it didn't do anything that took me out of the movie, I stayed invested throughout the entire film.
Personal Response: With the smart and fun dialogue this movie grabbed me pretty quick. Then after a while I became invested in the characters. After like half an hour I was wondering if they would go the easy way with the story. Then the movie surprisingly took a few turns that I didn't expect and it kept me interested in the story. Something really interesting that this movie did to me which had never occurred to me before was that I felt the emotion several minutes after the movie had ended. Normally there are certain scenes that give you the feels, but this time I felt it after and it still kept me engaged. When a movie can accomplish something like that, it earns my deepest respect.
Conclusion: 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' is a believable film with wonderful portrayed characters and with great things to say about illness, social life and creativity. 10/10
Characters and acting: One of the biggest pro's I can give this this movie is that all of the characters felt real in their motivations, reactions, emotions and the way they delivered their lines. The main character is portrayed by Thomas Mann. I haven't seen him in any other films, but judging by his age, he has a great career to look forward to. His chemistry with Rachel (played by Olivia Cooke) is spectacular. Not only is the build up done so well, but the way they deliver lines at each other and how the create inside jokes is a pleasure to witness on screen. I could talk for ages about the great actors in this movie, but the best way to describe them is 'real'.
Story and Dialogue: The story is surprisingly simple, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the execution of it has been done with care. Thankfully the filmmakers knew about the fact that you have probably heard this story numerous times, so they found a believable way to sort of make fun of it without taking away from the tone. The dialogue is often so fun and relate able. It is filled with clever jokes or comments about high school, life or sickness. This is the type of movie where you want to grab your phone or your notes every few minutes to write down that awesome quote.
Editing and Pacing: In these types of movies I'm always kind of nervous if there isn't a long middle-part where the pace hugely goes down. The length is as perfect as it can be. If it was longer it could have become boring and if it was shorter it would have been too rushed. In the terms of editing it has definitely some stand-out moments, there are some really fun stop-motion segments or creative filmmaking bits (keeping things vague because of spoilers).
Cinematography and Effects: The cinematography in this film is just lovely to watch. Not only are there some really neat camera tricks but it makes use of the entire screen instead of just the middle. Aside from that, the colors and the symmetry in the short look awesome, it actually manages to make high school look beautiful. Also a lot of repetition is found between several shots with different meanings, you can really see that the filmmakers put effort in making a film with usage of visual ques to tell a story.
Rewatchability: In a lot of movies like this I feel like there normally isn't much rewatchability value. Once you finally know what's going to happen it could make your second viewing less interesting. I feel like the value in this film is much greater though, mostly because of the combination of great characters mixed with genuine dialogue. I was so invested in the characters that I would mind seeing them a second, third or perhaps even a fourth time. In terms of foreshadowing, there is quite a lot of it, some of it in some small character moments that you wouldn't even notice when paying not enough attention. This would definitely make your second watching worth wile.
Deeper Meaning or Motives/Themes: This movie has quite a lot to say about dealing with illness (obviously), finding your place in school or in your social life, having friends, showing yourself and being who you are and showing your creativity.
Tone: The tone of the movie is so interesting. I should say it's a drama, but on the other hand, this movie is funny as hell, but I also wouldn't consider this a comedy. It's like a drama with great comedic elements. Aside from that the tone is really consistent and it didn't do anything that took me out of the movie, I stayed invested throughout the entire film.
Personal Response: With the smart and fun dialogue this movie grabbed me pretty quick. Then after a while I became invested in the characters. After like half an hour I was wondering if they would go the easy way with the story. Then the movie surprisingly took a few turns that I didn't expect and it kept me interested in the story. Something really interesting that this movie did to me which had never occurred to me before was that I felt the emotion several minutes after the movie had ended. Normally there are certain scenes that give you the feels, but this time I felt it after and it still kept me engaged. When a movie can accomplish something like that, it earns my deepest respect.
Conclusion: 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' is a believable film with wonderful portrayed characters and with great things to say about illness, social life and creativity. 10/10