Screening: Thursday, May 7, 8:30pm
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, and Jon Bernthal
Running Time: 104 minutes
Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon will attend the Q&A!
Synopsis: In this Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award winner, awkward, self-deprecating high-school student Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) is determined to anonymously coast through his senior year while making wacky versions of classic movies with his only friend, Earl (RJ Cyler). But then Greg’s well-meaning mother (Connie Britton) forces him to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a classmate with leukemia. Though tentative at first, the unlikely duo becomes inseparable—but when Rachel gets sicker, Greg’s well-fortified world is changed forever.
What the Critics Are Saying:
“A gorgeously conceived and executed variation on the teen weepie that recalls “Rushmore” and references Werner Herzog while sharing emotional DNA with “The Fault in Our Stars.” I know, weird, right? Yes, this is a special, odd movie, and it’s the kind of unique experience that filmgoers will adore when it descends from the mountains of Park City.”
-Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
“It’s dangerous to call something an instant classic, but sometimes it’s simply the truth.”
-Gregory Ellwood, Hitfix
The Chicago Critics Film Festival 