Me Without You (2001)

Fantastic!

Better Late Then Never

Absolutely Fantastic

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

This is one of those movies where it's supposed to be like real life, where stuff just sort of happens without the artifice of plot moving things toward a conclusion, and it's a good example of both the strengths and weaknesses of that style.Me Without You is about two girls who live next door to each other in England. Holly (Michelle Williams) is the intellectual one and Marina (Anna Friel) is the wild one. It follows their lives from being children in 1973 to grown women in 2001 and how their close friendship degenerates into disturbing co-dependency.The best things about this film are its smart observations of the rising and falling tides of life and how it lets the performers stretch themselves in the moment. The story recognizes that people flourish and languish at different times in their lives, that they aren't static or standing still. As a child, Holly is clearly the follower to Marina's leader but when they get to college, Marina is the directionless party girl while Holly is the one with her life in order. And as young adults, it is Holly who's stuck in a rut while Marina's life is moving forward. That also allows both actresses a chance to develop their characters into real people, establishing a core identity but also showing us how those people are both changed by time and circumstance, yet remain the same in fundamental good and bad ways. Without having to service a plot, the characters can develop an organic sense of realism.But the real life stylings of the story also hamper the film. It's all well and good to create complex and intriguing characters, but then you have to do something with them. That's where the plot comes in, giving a sense of purpose and direction that doesn't usually exist in real life. It connects all the action and behavior together as it moves from beginning to conclusion. Movies like Me Without You consciously avoid linear, propulsive storytelling…and they usually run into a problem as some point. In this movie, it comes as it shifts from Holly and Marina as college students to adults.The film is able to rely on the natural events of growth and development from childhood to young adulthood to give the story some structure. That sort of self-evident direction doesn't exist as grown-ups, though. There aren't that many definable moments that flow from one to another in a coherent pattern. In Me Without You, that results in the film having to introduce a bunch of really arbitrary elements to Holly and Marina's lives, things that don't naturally flow from what we've seen of the characters up until then.Another interesting thing about this film is how it demonstrates the difference between movie nudity in the American and British cinema. When someone gets naked in an American movie, there's almost always a purpose for it. It may be salacious and sleazy or it may have a genuine artistic point, but characters in American films get naked because someone wanted them to get naked at that point in the film. In British and European films, thought, nudity is often portrayed as though it were accidental or happenstance. The actors are naked just because they're in a situation where people would normally be naked and there's no effort made to cover up. They'll sit up in bed, the covers will slip down and…whoops, there's a nipple! Whether that's a more enlightened approach to movie nudity is up to each viewer to decide for themselves.Me Without You is one of those films that you'll enjoy if you buy into the characters and become invested in how their lives turn out. It asks for an emotional commitment from its audience. But if you just want to be entertained and not bothered by a movie, this probably isn't what you're looking for.

When you live in a suburb of London, in the mid 1970s, your best friend is whomever lives nearby. Such is the case of Holly (Michelle Williams), a bookish and sweetly obedient girl and Marina (Anna Friel), a wild child of an equally wild mom (Trudie Styler), who helps mold and shape the thinking of her more reserved neighbor. Add in Holly's crush on Marina's brother (Oliver Millburn), toss in some drugs, cigarettes, and a college professor (Kyle MacLachlan) when they go off to University and you have a brilliant character study, set against the New Wave 80s, and into the 90s.Holly must deal with control issues from all around her: first her stodgy parents, then dodgy Marina, who has her own agenda, even as she is trying to sabotage Holly's.It's a taut, real story, with authentic performances straight through. The questions it raises about what friends do for and to each other are explored, and the dynamic of who "runs" a relationship is a key element to the tale, just as much as the fantastic soundtrack of 1980s Punk and Brit Rock music.

This was a very good movie and definitely not just for females in their teens and 20's. I think all females (and even many males) can relate to this movie in one way or another. It's a very realistic movie about LIFE--- friendship, growing up, partying, sex, learning from mistakes, morals, family problems, falling in love, self-destruction, standing up for yourself, being with someone you don't love because it's expected of you, long term friendships and much more. It is definitely emotional at times, but very realistic. I live in the states and get irritated at the movies here being so idealistic--that's why i really enjoy the foreign made movies so much.

If you love stories about the relationship between women, this movie will satisfy you in many ways. It spans decades of growing up, coming of age, and finally becoming unique individuals who learn to define themselves and accept themselves and each other. This is a rather unsentimental movie that captures your heart in subtle ways. The dialogue is fast and witty. The visuals are stunning and colorful. Both women are fascinating. If you like movies like Beaches and Where the Heart Is or even Entre Nous, and you like them because you fancy the dynamics of female friendship, watch this. This is a modern-day chick-flick. Rock star chick flick. It takes many chances and doesn't have a tight message to the story. It remains mysterious and you are merely a voyeur to this relationship. You are left to make your own assumptions and draw your own opinion of what these two meant to each other.Movies like this are rarely made.