10 Movies It's Impossible To Finish Without Crying

3. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

One of the best indie films to have been released this year, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl mostly hums along on its quirkiness, humour and fantastic 'sweded' (to borrow a term from another cinema-obsessed indie) versions of classic films made by its main characters. The script is incredibly smart, but also retains a solid emotional core; in the film, Greg (Thomas Mann) - an outsider at school by choice, pleasant enough to all the cliques without being a part of just one - is forced to spend time with acquaintance Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who has just discovered that she has leukaemia. They end up growing closer together, in a nicely platonic fashion, and Greg introduces her to his filmmaking 'co-worker', Earl (RJ Cyler, a real breakout talent). Somewhere along the way, Greg and Earl are persuaded to make a film for Rachel, and much of the movie is spent agonising about what to make and how to make it.

Finally, Greg ends up having the movie ready for prom night, where Rachel has ended up in the hospital having decided not to continue treatment. He shows her the video, set to the ethereal electronic minimalism of Brian Eno's The Big Ship, and it's perfect. A beautiful short film that captures the life and spirt of this girl, with glimpses of those closest to her, laughing and smiling and holy hell is it emotional. Especially as things take a turn for the worse during the viewing. Although Greg, through his narration, assures us repeatedly throughout the movie that Rachel doesn't die, you can imagine the audience's collective surprise when she actually passes away. During a viewing of Greg's film for her, no less. It's more than just an emotional scene in a film full of them; it's a strikingly honest moment in a quirky indie where usually everything's very whimsical and things constantly turn out for the best. That is not the case with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; its writer Jesse Andrews was refreshingly honest that sometimes, people with cancer die. No matter how hard we try and rail against that eventuality. And sometimes, we are left crying in a cinema, with nothing but Brian Eno for comfort.