DVD REVIEW

Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (12)

At the behest of his parents (Connie Britton, Nick Offerman), socially awkward high school student Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) visits estranged childhood friend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who has been diagnosed with leukaemia. "I don't need your stupid pity so please go," she tells him coldly, but Greg persists. A faltering friendship takes root, to the delight of Rachel's boozy mother (Molly Shannon). In order to impress his high school crush (Katherine C Hughes), Greg agrees to make a film for Rachel with his partner in creative crime, Earl (RJ Cyler). They have been producing charming homages for years including A Sockwork Orange, Senior Citizen Kane and Anatomy Of A Burger. The pressure to deliver a masterpiece weighs heavily on Greg, creating unwelcome friction with Rachel. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is a beguiling and intensely moving rites-of-passage drama adapted from Jesse Andrews' debut novel, which eschews mawkishness and emotional manipulation in favour of a richly detailed portrait of adolescent dreams in crisis. Mann doesn't strike a false note in the tricky lead role, gelling naturally with Cyler and Cooke. There are obvious similarities to The Fault In Our Stars but Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's film mines a rich vein of offbeat humour to stem the deluge of salty tears, recounted as a scrapbook of bittersweet vignettes and stop-motion animation, accompanied with self-explanatory onscreen captions like "Day 1 Of Doomed Friendship". The director's whimsical visual flourishes are a constant delight, perfectly reflecting Greg's love of classic cinema and his penchant for homemade props.

Rating: ****