Eu sem Você

Summary: A messy, busy, charming little English film about girls muddling through `Me Without You' is a nice little movie (or should I say film?) that's a lot of fun if you'll let it be. Its depiction of a dependent relationship between two young Englishwomen from the Seventies till now is messy and busy. That's fine. If life wasn't messy and busy in the Seventies and Eighties I don't know what it was. Clothes and décor and music are thrown at us to evoke the successive periods in a way that ranges from charming to grating. The focus isn't on that; it's just a way of showing the passage of time, the saga of lives moving on. The early sequences jump a little too fast. When you go from the little girls to the young women you may think they're wholly different people. You may think the metamorphoses of the young women are too rapid. But quite early you start to care about both women, and about Marina's sweet and good looking but tragically unavailable brother Nat. This is a women's picture in the good sense that it knows what makes men attractive to women and why that both matters very much and isn't quite enough. It seems to take Nat and Holly about twenty-five years to get together for keeps. The relationship between Marina (Anna Friel) and Holly (Michelle Williams) makes disfunctionality and exploitation between people seem okay, and that's fine too. Mostly we don't question our intimate relationships. The assumption is that the relationship is symbiotic. Pretty early on it becomes clear that the insecure but fast Marina exploits and abuses Holly, while the slightly mousy but smart Holly sticks around because she's too nice and too needy not to. It takes a few decades for this to end, for Holly to realize that Marina needs her more than she needs Marina.

I think what makes this a good film (I will say film) is that it's informed by the English spirit of muddling through, of not expecting too much, but there's an underlying moral sense. There's some of the same kind of wry honesty that comes at the end of Schlesinger's `Sunday Bloody Sunday.' `Me Without You' doesn't try to save the world or make Teaching Points about people. It takes them as they are. You can see this in the womanizing American prof character played excellently by Kyle McLaughlan. He's a rotter, but bloody hell! He can't help it. He's sleazier than the amiable scoundrel played by Hugh Grant in `About a Boy,' but he has some of that appeal. Marina isn't a bitch. If a person as nice and as smart as Holly loves her, how can we hate her? No one is a caricature. No one is whiney or shrill. Muddling through, or making do: I thought also of the mood of the once-Number One video in England, `Withnail and I': it's always rainy and things are always running out.

There are a lot of scenes and little reversals of fortune and through them all Friel and Williams remain excellent, Friel as Marina changing costumes like some mod master of disguise, while the soft, slightly plain, but actually quite lovely Williams as Holly carries the film. Finally it's all about Holly. It's Holly who has the endurance and who gets the man of her dreams at the end, rewarded for her intelligence and moral superiority like a Jane Austen heroine. Williams does her English accent to perfection and quietly underplays her role. The highly saturated color of the film makes her skin look ravishing: she becomes not just an English girl but an understated English beauty who doesn't need Marina's trendy, tarted up costumes and face to be splendid looking.

What makes the film worthwhile and interesting is how well the two characters are written. A long time after seeing it I was still thinking about the relationship.

Friendship is a curious thing, and it's a topic which hasn't been explored too recently at the cinema. Me Without You puts this right, following the relationship between Holly (Williams) and Marina (Friel) from the seventies through the present, watching as them grow up and exploring their feelings towards each other and each other's families.

Imagine a British answer to The Ice Storm or American Beauty, and you're about half-way there, as this contains performances of genuine passion and emotion which leads you to engage on a surprisingly deep level with the characters as it delves beneath the surface of friendship. There is a moment about an hour in with Holly where it was impossible not to feel her character's desperation. While mostly drama, there are many moments of subtle humour which are effective without disturbing the overall flow of the piece.

The direction, especially with some inspired lighting in the last half hour is more than adequate, and the soundtrack perfectly evokes the spirit of the era, as do the costumes which have obviously had great care taken over them.

More importantly, though, this is a film which will really make you think, make you question the nature of friendship and your friends - you'll want to recommend this film to them, but you probably won't for fear of losing them afterwards!

A delight, and not at all what you might expect from a British film starring an ex soap actress. The two leads put in fine performances, and the supporting cast more than pull their weight. It's fair to say that I felt some of the nudity and drug use were slightly gratuitous, but this is a criticism that could also be levelled at American Beauty to a certain extent. This isn't quite a five star film, but it's pretty close.

I chanced upon the movie while casually flicking and was absorbed immediately with the quiet, understated acting of Michelle Williams. I found her exquisite and emotionally charged performance but not in a melodramatic ways. And her beautiful, soulful eyes, are hard to ignore. Yes, it sounds like cliché. Yes, it's been told over and over again. Angst-ridden teenagers with tons of issues. But this is one told differently. So if you want a slight emotional roller coaster ride and appreciate good acting. This is worth your while. I guess one wonders why didn't Nat and Molly just got together in the beginning, but I guess that's one surprise element that keeps audience (I know it kept me!) in suspense. There were also very good both poignant and explosive scenes. The highlight I agree was when Molly told Marina why she had to leave. The writer and director has a bright future. So do the 3 main casts. I'm going to see Station Agent already (MW).

Every actor gives a remarkable performance in this film which has become my new favorite. Even the soundtrack is excellent, combining The Clash, Echo the Bunnymen, along with other pulsing musical giants, it provides a perfect backdrop to the gorgeous storyline. This simple however very rich tapestry of two young girls growing up together throughout the 70's, 80's, until today reminds me why I love movies. And the character of Nat (Oliver Milburn) reminds me why I want to love. I could watch it over and again still never tiring of the struggle between the two main characters Holly and Marina to grow up into independence. This is especially difficult for Holly as she strives to live under her best/worst friend Marina's constant control. She manipulates every situation with no shame in order to keep Holly closely tied to her and out of her older brother's (Nat) arms. It is a truly intense dynamic between these three souls, one that has inspired me to recommend the movie to others, both men and women as it reaches both sexes. Looks can be deceiving because it is no chick flick, but a highly interesting portrayal of human behavior, highlighted by flaws each one of us have and take for granted. So if you want to see a movie that will stay with you always see this one. It's clever, incredibly moving and intelligently sexy. I highly recommend it!!! : )

This is one of the best depictions of female adolescence, and the intensity of female "best friend"ships I've seen. Good attention to detail. Doesn't pull its punches on sex, drugs & rock'n'roll - neither glamourizing nor moralizing. It might take courage for parents to let their teenagers see it, but it's delusional to think kids don't know about these things. Good to see it handled intelligently.