Me Without You (2001)

Two best friends grow up on the Isle of Wight and in Brighton in the 1970s and 1980s.

Director:

Sandra Goldbacher

Writers:

Sandra Goldbacher (screenplay), Laurence Coriat (screenplay)

Stars:

Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, Ella Jones

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ella Jones	...	Young Holly
Anna Popplewell	...	Young Marina
Cameron Powrie	...	Young Nat
Trudie Styler	...	Linda
Allan Corduner	...	Max
Deborah Findlay	...	Judith
Nicky Henson	...	Ray
Anna Friel	...	Marina
Michelle Williams	...	Holly
Oliver Milburn	...	Nat
Hannah Bourne	...	Carolyn
Russell Mabey	...	Craig (as Russell Maybey)
Blake Ritson	...	Tim
Francis Lee	...	Paul
Eve Cooper-Rose	...	Sophie

Storyline

Growing up in the 1970s on the Isle of Wight, Holly and Marina make a childhood pact to be friends forever. For the troubled, unpredictable Marina, with her seemingly glamorous father and her Valium-addicted mother, Holly stays the only constant in a life of divorcing parents, experimental drugs and fashionable self-destruction. Meanwhile, Holly buries herself in books out of feelings of frustration with her over-protective mother and a nagging insecurity around her beautiful and possessive best friend. She holds just one secret from Marina, her increasing passion for Marina's brother Nat. As the years roll by, the girls experience everything life has to offer, sex, love, loss and rock 'n roll. But eventually for Holly, a friendship which has never been equal gradually begins to feel like a trap.

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Plot Keywords:

isle of wight | best friend | 1970s | friendship | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

From Sandra Goldbacher, writer/director of The Governess, comes a film about the agonies and ecstasies of friendship.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming, Michelle Williams had to constantly fly back and forth between the UK and the North Carolina, USA to work on her television series Dawson's Creek (1998).

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Goofs

In 1982 fragment "Do you want me to want you to?" Holly said her favorite film of Tarkovsky was "Nostalghia" (1983) which hadn't been released yet by that time.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Marina: [to blindfolded Holly] Take a step forward. And another one. And another. Right leg up. Higher. What's the matter, don't you trust me.

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Connections

References Wild Strawberries (1957)

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Soundtracks

Warm Leatherette
(1978)
Performed by Daniel Miller (as The Normal)
Courtesy of Mute Records Ltd. UK
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Written by Daniel Miller
© 1979 - Blue Mountain Music Ltd

User Reviews

Bloody good show!

I'm a middle-aged white man, not a teen chick, and yet I must confess to having felt that this was a fine bit of work from so many POVs- and an entertaining package for their efforts.

Yes, there were times when it was too clear that the actresses were improvising their lines for a scene- but I could forgive it! There were far more instances where the lines were so spontaneously delivered that their candor felt just right, honesty beyond reproach.

The young women were excellent in their craft and sincerity. The screenplay was very believable, intelligent and did not pander- even if it tried too hard to include too much turmoil. The dialogue was delicious.

The direction was tentative in its lack of assurance (some moments that the cast ought to have been reined in rather than indulged) but mostly, the direction shows solid instinct and craft.

Finally, the cinematography is very fine. The framing and tracking show the viewer a smoothly handsome progress of scene and plot - without any trendy or self-conscious technical digression. Thank you, my friend, for your refusal to drown us in camera-shake!

All in all, I feel this was a fine project lovingly rendered by a sincere and generously talented team. As for their slight lack of self-confidence, it leads me to expect greater pleasure from their next work. This lot will not be undone by complacent ennui!

Details

Official Sites:

Momentum Pictures Synopsis, trailer (Media Player) [United States] Official site [United States]

Country:

UK Germany

Language:

English French

Release Date:

23 November 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Vida Sem Você

Filming Locations:

Ramsey, Isle of Man

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,816, 7 July 2002

Gross USA:

$304,909

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$369,226

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fireworks Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Momentum Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1