Me and You and Everyone We Know
I watched
Me and You
and Everyone We Know by
Miranda July last
night. I have to say it was about what I would expect from the
likes of a quirky performance artist like July. The film is
essentially a series of concepts and images strung together on a razor
thin narrative that just barely justifies this being a feature length
film and not an extended experimental piece. So the story
is the not the greatest thing or the most original thing, but it
affords July a place to hang the s**t that’s in her head. S**t
like a 7 year old boy instant messaging an anonymous woman online who
is touching herself because he is telling her that he wants to do a
“poop” exchange with her.
“Back and forth...back and forth”
Or S**t like two 16 year old girls who flirt with their middle aged
neighbor who then in turn posts graphic signs in his window, describing
what he would like to do with them, if only they were 18.
This S**t leads to the teenage girls fellating a teenage boy (brother
of the poop exchange boy) so he can tell them which is better at giving
head - all this in preparation for what girls believe will be their
eventual 3-way with the aforementioned middle aged neighbor.
“I always thought my first time would be with someone I cared about,
but this way will be better because if we do something wrong, it wont
matter.”
But then there are some truly beautiful moments. Like the moment
when a goldfish in a clear plastic bag is left atop a big SUV as it
speeds down the highway. Eventually the bag flies forward and lands on
the trunk of a car in front of the SUV. This allows the little
girl riding in the SUV to watch as the bag, containing the fish,
eventually falls to the ground.
“We should say a few words...”
Possibly the most bizarre and magical image of the film is when the
quirky shoe salesman, Richard (John Hawkes)
decides to set his hand on fire with lighter fluid as a kind of
ceremony to commemorate the beginning of the his separation from his
wife. He gleefully performs this immolation in front of this two
sons - poop exchange boy and double fellatio teen.
“It seemed like a good idea....but then it hurt...so it was OK”
My personal favorite image/concept/moment was the poop exchange boys
inquiry about this odd, metallic tapping early in the morning outside
his dad’s apartment. When he first asks, his mother tells him
that it’s the street lights turning off--street lights that are
controlled by a big computer somewhere in the city. (HERE comes a
spoiler) At the end, poop exchange boy discovers the metallic tapping
is man, tapping a quarter on the bust stop sign while he waits for
bus. “What are you doing?” poop exchange boy asks. “Just
passing the time” answers the man. And with that the bus pulls
up, all bathed in the light of early morning sign. The man hands
the quarter to poop exchange boy and the movie ends.
So I get the Miranda July understands how the cinema works, how it can
aid you in the creation of beautiful images. I think she has a
great cinematic sensibility. But where she falls short is the
story. But what can I expect from a performance artist? Her
craft is one the thrives on high concepts and spectacle. Any
story that makes its way into her work is just a justification for
another bizarre image or concept. In other words, beautiful
concepts and images alone, do not a great film make.