ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW

US, 2005, 91 minutes, Colour.
John Hawkes, Miranda July, Miles Thomson, Brendan Ratcliffe, Carlie Westerman, Ellen Gere, Hector Elias.
Directed by Miranda July.

There are a lot of small-budget films these days, generally put under the heading of ‘independent cinema’. These are the films not made by the studios but by directors, often struggling, sometimes with the help of such organisations as the Sundance Festival. They are obviously not meant to be blockbusters. Rather, they tend to be portraits of small communities, dramas of lower-key interactions and relationships that can erupt in violence. Many audiences who come across these films expect them to be more ‘entertaining’ and find them too serious.

Miranda July, writer and director of this film and its main actor, has a history of multimedia art and performance art. Her character here, a lonely young woman more desperate for relationship than she realises, does video work and voiceovers which she hopes to exhibit. Her encounters, especially with a shoe salesman, lead us to more and varied characters, his two sons for instance and their next-door neighbour (three young children) and the repressed gallery owner. This means that this is a drama of interconnections that may or may not lead to anything. As such, the film is well-made, with characters’ oddities and foibles to the fore. (Some alarm bells may go up with aspects of the sub-plot of the two boys, one a sex episode with two experimenting teenage girls, the other with the very young boy exchanging some crass messages in a chat room which evokes issues of pedophilia.)

Miranda July avoids judgments on her characters, portrays them seriously and comically, and lets the audience decide.

1. The acclaim for this independent film? The director, her film work, her career in multimedia? Bringing multimedia and performance art into film?

2. The small town setting, the homes, the shops, especially the shoe store? The arts centre? The parks? An authentic atmosphere? The musical score?

3. The title, the references – and Peter’s comment to his brother Robbie?

4. The structure of the film, the introduction to Christine, to Richard? The build-up of the other characters? The interconnections of their lives? The interconnection of the situations and plot strands?

5. Themes of loneliness, people living alone, being alone in their minds and hearts? Relationships, family break-up, dysfunctional families, brothers and sibling relationships, neighbours, girlfriends, romance, sex, sexual aberration?

6. The director performing the role of Christine? The introduction to her, the voice-over, her performance art, the videos? Her driving the old man to buy the shoes, her interest in Richard, his persuading her to buy the shoes? Her buying them, looking at them afterwards? Her shoes and the bruises? Her meeting Richard at the shop, returning to the shop? Christine in the shop, the floppy ears? Walking and talking with Richard, the image of their journey, her getting into his car, his ousting her and her being hurt? Her working on the videos, going to visit Nancy, the rejection, her having to post her video? The phone call, leaving the code word “macaroni” – and Nancy ringing? The future? Richard ringing her – and a possibility of her not being alone? Artistic success?

7. The introduction to Richard, the clash with his wife, her leaving with her boyfriend? The two boys? Discussions with them, the set-up at his home, sharing the custody? At the shoe shop, his assistant? Serving the old man, meeting Christine, suggesting to her to buy the shoes? The details of discussions with Pam, the boys and their life at home, their being on the Internet, meals? His attempts at supervision, picking the boys up, school, their not arriving home, his puzzle about their being missing? His reaction to Christine and her coming into the shop, walking with her and talking, ousting her from the car, the crisis with his family? The date? His self-destructive attitudes – the burning of his hand?

8. The boys, their age, relationship with each parent, between themselves? Feeling the marriage break-up? The Internet, the chat rooms? Sylvie and her friendship with Robbie – and playing with him? His joining the group? Her watching from next door? Her mother and her interest in the boys? Peter, shy with the girls, their coming to his home, the sexual proposal and his acceptance? Robbie and his discussions with the Internet chat room, the crassness of his discussions? The replies? The issue of chat rooms and adults disguising themselves as children? His planning to meet the correspondent, going to the park, the irony of the art director coming, his leaving? Her leaving? Their not talking with their father – but finally agreeing to walk with him, the future bonds?

9. The neighbours, the mother, Sylvie, at play, her feeling superior to the others, her box and Peter looking in it? Her observing?

10. The arts centre, Nancy, her negative attitude towards Christine and others, her partner, assessing the entries? Her looking at Christine’s video with some detail, ringing back and giving the code word? The surprise of her being the person from the chat room, her discovering the young boy, her leaving?

11. Richard’s assistant, the two girls leading him on, his fears, hiding from them? His leaving pornographic notices for them to read? The two girls, their age, giggling? Sexual curiosity, vanity, the proposal to Peter, the sexual experimentation? The spurning of the shoe shop man?

12. Glimpses of ordinary people, functioning well, dysfunctional? Insights into human nature?