Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Short description
Greg Gaines is a high school senior in Pittsburgh who tries to get through his final year unnoticed, keeping his distance from classmates and spending his free time making odd short films with Earl, his only friend. Greg's plan for a quiet year falls apart when his mother insists that he spend time with Rachel Kushner, a classmate who has been diagnosed with leukemia. Neither Greg nor Rachel welcomes the arrangement at first, and Rachel is wary that he is visiting only out of pity, but the two gradually form a friendship that changes them both.
The film was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, following his 2014 feature The Town that Dreaded Sundown and preceding The Current War in 2018. Jesse Andrews adapted the screenplay from his own novel. Thomas Mann plays Greg, Olivia Cooke plays Rachel, and RJ Cyler plays Earl, with Connie Britton, Nick Offerman and Molly Shannon in supporting roles. Thirty-three cast members and forty crew members are credited.
Made for about 8 million dollars, the film took in roughly 9 million dollars worldwide. It holds a 7.7 rating on IMDb from around 144,000 votes and a 7.5 rating on TMDB from a much smaller voter base. A critics' rating of 7.6 from 210 reviews places it broadly in line with the audience scores. The film runs 105 minutes and blends comedy with drama.
What's left behind the scenes
- The main character is played by Thomas Mann. Thomas Mann was a German writer, author of the novella "Death in Venice" (1912), a film adaptation of which was parodied by Greg and Earl.
- Greg's father's cat is named Cat Stevens. This is also the stage name of a British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was born Steven Demetrios Georgiou, but changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1978.
- Olivia Cooke’s first film role that does not fall into the genres of “science fiction” or “horror.”
- At the 2015 Sundance Film Festival (Park City, Utah), Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film for $12 million. To date, this is the most expensive purchase in the festival's history.
- On Greg's paper bag in the cafeteria, it says “Romanian Poison” and below it “Otrava,” which means “poison” in Romanian.
- The film mentions Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" (1982). The surname Fitzcarraldo is borne by a character played by Thomas Mann (playing Greg) in the 2010 film "It's Kind of a Funny Story" directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl" references either the film "It's Kind of a Funny Story" itself, or the fact that it contains a reference to "Fitzcarraldo".
- One of the books Greg saw in Rachel’s room contained the words “parks” and “recreation areas.” Greg’s father was played by Nick Offerman, who played Ron Swanson in the television series “Parks and Recreation” (2009-2015).
- The board game played by supporting characters in one of the film's episodes is called "Dominion".
- Emma Roberts was initially considered for the role of the main character.
- In the scene where Greg calls Rachel for the first time, Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” (1976) is playing on television – specifically the moment where Travis calls Betsy and asks her out. In this mise-en-scène from “Taxi Driver,” the camera pans to the right, revealing an empty hallway. Scorsese intended this to show how awkward his characters feel during the phone call. By including this episode in “Me, Earl and the Dying Girl,” director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon sought to convey that Greg is experiencing the same feelings.
- The teacher mentions the song “Ding-a-dong.” This song, performed by Teach-In, won first place in the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest.
- A.R. Syler's first feature film.
- The film features references to other films – for example, a poster for George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) in a store, and a patch on Greg's jacket for the same director's "Dawn of the Dead" (1978).
- The scene in Rachel's bedroom, where she and Greg discuss prom and her illness, lasts 5 minutes and 5 seconds. Throughout this entire time, the camera moves only once – in the last 2 seconds of the scene.
- Actress Olivia Cooke shaved her head to play the role of Rachel.
- The film is based on the novel of the same name by Jesse Andrews.
- The film's screenplay appeared on the so-called “Black List” of 2012 – a list of the most potentially successful unproduced screenplays.
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