Yuriy Kovch EN 102 4 Octoberr 2010

Me and You and Everyone We Know

We're born alone, we live alone, and we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone (Orson Welles).Me and You and Everyone We Know is a film in which Miranda July presents a sharp observation of how people struggle to connect with one another in an isolating and modern world. One of them is Christine, a lonely artist, who uses her artistic visions to draw her aspiration of desire mate. Another is Richard, a newly single and father of two boys, who is prepared for amazing things to happen. He meets Christine with a panic. Next, Richards seven-year-old Robby is on an internet contact with a stranger, but he never talks with his father. They all seek togetherness and recovery in small moments that can connect them to someone else on their world. The film opens with Christines voice in a conversation and narrative to peoples snapshots of romance. She is alone in her apartment speaking aloud, If you really love me, then let's make a vow. Right here, together. Right now. Okay? Okay. At that moment, the viewers can feel her loneliness, hope, and longing. It is her attitude for whole story. Then on one scene, Christine first sees Richard, the shoe salesman, and falls in love at first sight. Richard is so shelled over the breakup of his marriage and cannot respond in kind to Christine, but she is so insistent. They walk down the street together, and she uses the street as a metaphor for their started relationship. She tries to be not alone anymore, Tyrone is, like, when we die of old age. And this is, like, our whole life together, this block. See, that's

perfect. They are together for a moment. Then at Tyrone Street, she has to turn one way, and he the other. Christine is again left alone with her artistic imagination of romance. After Christine monologue conversation, the story goes to Richard, who puts his hand on fire to impress his boys. He is newly separated from his wife, and he does strange thing. Richard seems to viewers a little unbalanced. His sons treat him with a mix of interest and apprehension. He is alone in his own world of feelings and worries. His bandaged hand is a reminder of his pain and loneliness, I was trying to save my life, and it didn't work. He does not let anybody to go in his life. His wound still hurts, And when do you get to take that off? I don't know. I think when it stops hurting. That hurt keeps him alone almost through whole story. At the end, he takes the bandage out and his life begins to change. He says to his boys, I'm taking off the bandage now, if anyone wants to see. It's so sensitive. His attitude to life is changed completely, and he is opened to the relations. Another scene of loneliness shows when Robby helps his older brother Peter to construct an art image of tiger on the computer. They both are self-contained and definitely excluding their dad. A vacancy of parents attention pushes them to a weird relationship with a screen persona. Robby begins chatting regularly with that persona because he is left behind by his mother, father, and Peter. He seeks somebody who wants to be in a relation with him. Loneliness can touch anybody in any age. Me and You and Everyone We Know expands the theme of loneliness to include virtually everyone onscreen. Miranda July seems to be saying that in our search to extend the possibilities of communication has become much harder to connect with others around us.