A lonely shoe salesman and an eccentric performance
artist struggle to connect while living in the modern world. DRAMA
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Me and You and
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Me and You and Everyone We Know was Miranda July’s feature length debut, but she had been making short films and art pieces since the mid-nineties. I watched one of her shorts, "The Amateurist," and listened to a few tracks on one of her spoken word albums from 1997 called 10 Million Hours A Mile. I find July’s willingness to put herself out there creatively really inspiring. Me and You and Everyone We Know won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival which is an award given out to the best first feature film. People knew back then that it was a gem and that should be more common knowledge today.
Christine Jesperson is an Elder Cab driver with a very artistic side who struggles to connect with people in the modern world. Richard Swersey is a recently separated shoe salesman and the film revolves around him and Christine grappling with life. It’s not a familiar kind of structure because it just moves wherever it wants. Sometimes, we are with Christine in her cab while she converses with old people. Sometimes we are at the shoe store with Richard and sometimes we are with Richard’s kids as they deal with their own adolescence. It’s a handful of characters' lives intertwining in formative but sometimes unfortunate scenarios. It reminded me a bit of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia from 1999. I really fucking dig what John Hawkes is doing as Richard who has a one of a kind mind. Miranda July is a really talented director but I like her acting as well. She kind of needs to play Christine in Me and You and Everyone We Know. It’s such a poetic film that requires total understanding from the cast. The music provided by Michael Andrews pairs quite nicely with the “slice of life” style that July brings to the table. I’m excited to explore more of her work but it will be tough to top Me and You and Everyone We Know. |