7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
High school senior, Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Starring: Thomas Mann (V), RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie BrittonComing of age | 100% |
Drama | 59% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
There have been a number of teenage themed films dotting the landscape over the past few years, at least at times with overly self aware lead characters (who sometimes narrate the proceedings), films as disparate in subject matter if at least somewhat similar in tone as The Fault in Our Stars, The Way Way Back and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. While Me and Earl and the Dying Girl may in fact seem at times like a pastiche cobbled together from various tropes lifted more or less whole cloth from some of those very aforementioned films, this sweet, touching and often very funny outing manages to carve out its own completely distinctive identity, rather in fact like its winning if troubled hero, Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann, and, no, not that one). Greg, kind of like Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is writing something as the film opens, and like several other entries in this subgenre, Greg’s voiceover continues to anchor the proceedings as the film progresses (along with some trenchant subtitles indicating various relationship progressions). In a plot gambit that will strike some as almost deliberately reminiscent of The Fault in Our Stars, Greg becomes friends with a high school girl named Rachel Kushner (Olivia Cooke) who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, specifically leukemia. Greg does not become friends willingly, forced to do through the nagging of his mother (Connie Britton), and it should be noted that Rachel herself is not especially excited about the relationship, either, having been coaxed into it by her mother (Molly Shannon). The film charts the course of this unlikely pairing, also working in an often hilarious sidebar that involves Greg’s lifelong buddy Earl (Ronald Cyler II), who, together with Greg, has crafted scores of “films” that are deliciously demented little parodies of iconic titles like Midnight Cowboy and A Clockwork Orange. I’ve taken a bit of heat at times (what else is new?) for not out and out loving some of these teen-centric films, but for a number of reasons Me and Earl and the Dying Girl resonated much more successfully for me personally than others in this somewhat odd stew of youth and at least the possibility of death. The film is whip smart and often laugh out loud hilarious, and it manages to tiptoe right up to the precipice of a maudlin sensibility before jerking back into a proper teenaged cynicism which strikes this father of teenagers as an absolutely accurate depiction of this roiling period in most kids’ lives, whether or not they’re confronting issues of mortality.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has a long history with some pretty iconic names in cinema, including a certain Martin Scorsese, and Gomez-Rejon's command of askew framing is one of this film's chief delights. Gomez-Rejon and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung play with all sorts of crazy angles, as well as utilizing a variety of wide lenses (like, fisheye wide) to create hilarious visual indicators of teenage isolation. The film was shot digitally and overall boasts a sleek, sharp and clear image, one that hasn't been overly toyed with in terms of color grading. The (student) films within the film have a suitably gritty "small format" appearance, without much in the way of clarity or detail. A few wider shots lack the general levels of detail that are exhibited otherwise, and a couple of darker sequences offer only baseline shadow detail. Image stability is just fine and there are no compression issues to cause concern.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl features a workmanlike DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which springs to life in ubiquitous source cues (including winking takes on various iconic musical moments from various famous films), as well as a few nicely detailed sequences in the boisterous high school, with most of the surround activity coming courtesy of scenes placed in a chaotic lunchroom. Dialogue is delivered cleanly and clearly and there are no problems of any kind to address in this review.
While Me and Earl and the Dying Girl did very well at Sundance, bringing home both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, it failed to connect at the box office as strongly as might have been, something that frankly kind of shocks me, given this film's technical expertise, strong, smart writing and pitch perfect performances. If you think you've seen all the "teen death" movies you need for one lifetime, I can't say I blame you, but take a chance on Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, especially if you're a film fan. This is a "teen death" film made for film fans (as horrible as that may sound). Technical merits are very strong, the supplementary package is excellent, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes Highly recommended.
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