It is easy to play for sympathy in a film dealing with a serious subject such as cancer. Thankfully, when a very talented director like Alfonso Gomez-Rejon injects such grace and humanity to it, it becomes something truly special. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is a wonderfully funny, heartbreaking and beautiful story about a high school student and an unlikely freindship with a classmate diagnosed with cancer. With terrific performances, the filmmaker gives amazing depth to this inspired and personal tale.
When I sat down with the cast of Me and Earl, including Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler and Olivia Cooke, they discussed finding the characters in this very touching film. And since Mann and Cyler play aspiring filmmakers, they talked about which films they would remake in the clever and funny way their characters do in the film. The three actors give very grounded and honest portraits of teens dealing with a heartbreaking issue in a very real way.
We also had the fantastic opportunity to chat with Alfonso, and my only complaint is that we didn't have enough time to really get into the film. As a fan of the director (his credits include episodes of American Horror Story and Glee as well as the suprisingly impressive remake/sequel THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN) it was a nice opportunity to talk about the making of his latest. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is a wonderful film, and one that you may have to search for, but it is absolutely worth doing. Look for it this weekend!