Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
I don't think you are going to see
a more unique and interesting film this year than
Miranda July's "Me and You and Everyone We Know."
This is the kind of film that lovers of Independent
cinema enjoy celebrating and promoting. This is the
kind of film that you simply want to share with everyone
you know (no pun intended) and the DVD, if released
before the end of the year, will make a great gift
for all your hard-to-buy-for-friends at Christmastime.
July is simply wonderful as Christine,
a performance artist whose work is as odd and quirky
as she is. It is also as interesting and likeable
as she is. The film is a circle, a Moebius strip,
if you will, of interconnected characters who all
seem disjointed and out of whack. Christine likes
Richard, a recently divorced shoe salesmen whose attempting
to make room for his two sons, Robbie and Peter, in
his new small apartment. Meanwhile Christine works
with an older couple to help them get together and
ends up creating a new art piece around them. Richard's
co-worker in the meantime is having an odd flirtation
with a couple of neighborhood teenage girls. The girls
use Richard's son Peter to explore their newfound
sexuality while young Robbie becomes involved in an
odd on-line sexual relationship. Never mind that Peter
and the neighborhood girls are only about 14 and Peter
is probably 8 or 9. July is unafraid in exploring
her subject and the subject of pedophilia is not off
limits nor is teen sexuality.
That being said, however, July's
wise and witty script isn't interested in creating
drama or being cynical. She isn't trying to make fun
of the characters or set them up for anger and hurt.
She doesn't intentionally put them in harm's way.
Instead she is honestly and frankly discusses the
human spirit and the human drive to be together, to
connect - even on a merely sexual level, and to celebrate
our connections. This is a wonderful film and July's
writing and direction consistently move us with their
unique flavor and the honest revelations she exposes.
Every connection here, every story within the film,
is immediate, interesting and unique yet it speaks
to us in such a honest and realistic way that we cannot
help but become involved in the characters and their
lives and become moved quite easily by them.
Yes, there are some odd moments
in the film. July is, after all, a avant-garde performance
artist whose previous work has been considered everything
but mainstream. But it is exactly these unusual and
outsider sensibilities that make "Me and You and Everyone
We Know" so realistic and engrossing. Her characters,
except for herself, speak in such a realistic manner
that is it impossible not to connect with them. And
when July's Christine speaks in her poetic and unusual
manner, it creates a nexus of optimism and joy that
is simply infectious.
The acting here is nothing short
of perfection. July is breezy and refreshing in the
lead. John Hawkes of cable TV's "Deadwood" is perfect
as her love interest, a down-on-his- luck loser who
still finds reason to believe in life and love. The
pairing is chemically profound. And the young men
who play Hawkes' sons are simply amazing. Miles Thompson
steps out of the typical angst-ridden and lonely teenage
roles usually given to actors of his age to create
a realistic and quiet teenager who doesn't grouse
and rarely acts out. His interactions with a younger
girl he befriends move us with its quiet introspection
and optimism. And Brandon Ratcliff is both wonderfully
solemn and majorly hilarious as young Robby. His handling
of the material here will astound you. July asks a
lot from her young actors and they deliver with an
earnestness and a wisdom that seems well beyond their
years.
The photography here is simply beautiful
for a low budget film. Cinematographer Chuy Chavez
lenses the film with an eye that seems as perfect
and as unique as July's. Together they create some
breathtaking images. The music by Mike Andrews perfectly
accents these glorious and interesting visuals. This
is a film that stands head and shoulders above everything
else out there on nearly every level. "Me and You
and Everyone We Know" is a film that makes you love
movies. It's a film you will want to see again and
again. It's a film that you will want every one you
know to see with you.
Notes:
The film won prizes at Cannes, the
Independent Spirit Awards and at Sundance. The script
began as a Sundance project.
Viewed at The Arbor in Austin in
July 2005 with Johnny Oh!
