My Favourite Film
Me and You and Everyone we know by Geraldine Heaney
Geraldine volunteers at Screenworks and works as Volunteer Coordinator, a job that involves recruiting and supporting the volunteers and, most importantly, making sure everyone knows where the biscuits are kept. In her time away from Screenworks, Geraldine works freelance as a filmmaker and project assistant. She has just finished an outreach beatboxing project and is currently working on creating a Skateboarding Documentary, entitled Taming the Beast.
As a filmmaker I am particularly interested in the oddities of human nature and the peculiarities that render each person an individual. Me and You and Everyone we Know by Miranda July, is a beautiful film, but what appealed to me the most was the way in which the quirky and off-beat style of the director centralises the stories of characters that usually inhabit only the fringes of mainstream cinema. July celebrates idiosyncrasy in a way that is both inspiring and honest. This film could be categorised as an ‘offbeat, romantic comedy’, but the very fact that this is a category, undermines the individual nature of the film. It is unique, if a little peculiar.
Me and You and Everyone we Know tells the story of Christine Jesperson (impressively, played by writer and director, July), a lonely visual artist; and Richard Swersey, a shoe salesman and father of two young boys. The story details their struggle to make a connection in an alienating contemporary world. Ultimately, this is a ‘boy meets girl’ tale, but it is the peripheral characters that bring the film to life and lend an element of reality to the feature, all be it the reality of a visual artist. These characters vary from the house-proud tweenager looking for ‘timeless pieces’ in the department store, to the lonely and severe, gallery curator who seems desensitised and disenchanted not only with her profession, but with her life. Each one of these characters has a history and a future that is essential, not only to the making of the film, but also to the story and progress of the main characters.
There are particular scenes that stick in my memory from watching this film: the beautifully shot slow motion opening when Richard sets his hand on fire; the shot of Christine’s new pink shoes; the brand new goldfish on the roof of a moving car; and two young boys in an internet chat room, the cheeky nature of which scene lead to an awkward moment when I was watching the film with my parents, having told them that ‘I wanted to make films just like this’.
The film was shot on a Digital camera and the vibrant palette used compliments the stylish and, for want of a better word, quirky, nature of the script and performers. The Music was composed by Michael Andrews and is largely performed on a Casio sampling keyboard, which helps to define the charming and honest sense of the film.
Me and You and Everyone we Know was my first introduction to the work of Miranda July, it is now one of my favourite films and she is one of my favourite artists. July is an artist, filmmaker, writer and performance maker. Her other works include a book of short stories called ‘no one belongs here more than you’, various art projects and project based websites, as well as numerous written pieces and a couple of other short films. To look at some other work by Miranda July, go to the following links:
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