Me You and Everyone We Know: A Quirky Indie Film

Me You and Everyone We Know is an independent film, one of the Garden State genre in that it stars the same person who wrote and directed it; namely, Miranda July, a performance artist and published short story author. It's the first full-length film that she has written and it was met with moderate critical acclaim. In addition to Miranda July, the film stars a handful of relatively unknown young actors, apart from the most prolific John Hawkes in one of the main roles.

The film concerns various characters whose lives all overlap in some way. Miranda July stars as Christine, a performance artist (where did she get the inspiration for that?) and a cab driver for Elder Cab, a company that drives elderly folks wherever they need to go. John Hawkes plays Richard Swersey, a newly divorced dad whose youngest son, Robby, is surprisingly precocious and whose oldest son, Peter, at about 14 years old, is jaded and distant. When Richard and Christine's paths cross, interesting things happen - but I won't give too much away.

Then there's Sylvie, the elementary school aged daughter of Richard's new neighbors. Sylvie is fastidious, poised, and eerily grown-up. Rebecca and Heather are two sexually curious young girls in Peter's class who gleefully tease one of Richard's coworkers. Michael is a wise old man that Christine drives around, with whom she seems to have an almost familial relationship. Then there's Nancy, who runs the art gallery to which Christine contributes her work. Nancy's path crosses the path of another character in the film, but I can't say any more about that without it being a spoiler, except to say that it is unexpected and interesting.

The overall tone of this film is somewhat dark as it portrays alienated, uncertain people trying to make their way through life without any real guide as to how to do it. However, there is also an undertone of potential and magic that enlivens the film and keeps it from getting too depressing. The visual aspects are also uplifting; aesthetically, the film is crisp, clean, bright, and pleasantly colored. The soundtrack is comprised of perfectly fitting, unique songs that lend the film a wistful, melancholy feel.

This film, like many other indie films, blurs the line between comedy and drama, mixing humor and traumatic events seamlessly. The dialogue is often offbeat and humorous - one of my favorite exchanges involves Sylvie, the young neighbor girl mentioned earlier. In the scene, she is in the kitchen section of a department store, questioning an employee who does not seem too interested in dealing with her about a hand-held blender.

She asks the woman if the blender is "a classic" and when the woman is understandbly bewildered, she elaborates by asking if it will still be in style in 20 years. The woman condescendingly responds that although it is a classic, 20 years is a long time, and everything will probably be computerized by then. An obviously distressed Sylvie responds, "Soup won't be computerized." "Why not?" the woman asks blithely. Sylvie, still very concerned, replies, "It's a liquid." The scene ends at that line.

I enjoyed this film.I even watched it twice. But that didn't preclude me from being able to see it through the eyes of someone who disliked it, and I would not recommend it to everyone. On one hand, it is charmingly quirky, funny, and touching. On the other hand, it can seem a little "weird for the sake of weird" and pretentious. Some say the characters' dialogue sounds contrived, others find it natural and enjoyable.

Some find the film profound and creative, others find it obnoxious and overdone. Some of it is so absurd that it may be construed as disturbing or offensive. It's definitely an indie film and follows in the footsteps of many previous indie films (think: weird actions that are never explained, odd conversations, bizarre tangents). If you enjoy this type of film, you will certainly like Me You and Everyone We Know. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, stay away. It's a specific taste, and you'll probably either love it or you'll hate it.