What is it? High school drama about an awkward student (Thomas Mann) who's convinced by his parents to befriend a classmate diagnosed with leukaemia (Olivia Cooke). Why is it a major player? It's another Sundance breakout hit, but while End Of The Tour was a critical darling featuring one acclaimed performance, Me & Earl & The Dying Girl is already a popular award winner, having taken two top film prizes from Sundance 2015: the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. So it's highly acclaimed, approved by audiences, industry people and critics, and it's an Inspirational-with-a-capital-I tearjerker to boot. The only thing that may be really holding the film back is that it's something that seems almost entirely made outside of the Hollywood circle, with director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon something of an unknown entity. That said, while Me & Earl & The Dying Girl also isn't the starriest of affairs (though Jon Bernthal and Nick Offerman make appearances), it sounds like the kind of 'quirky' independent film Oscar loves to include alongside the heavier studio players.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
