Throughout the past years cancer has become a topic explored in Hollywood. Often times, the subject has been explored in romantic dramas and even family dramas. More importantly the films have always had serious tones that end with audiences crying. 

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's latest film "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" adds a new spin to the cancer drama by subverting the genre and creating a delightfully moving film with great performances from its cast.

"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" tells the story of a high schooler Greg (Thomas Mann), who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl (RJ Cyler). However, his life is altered after befriending a classmate, Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who has just been diagnosed with cancer.

The movie works in part because of Gomez-Rejon's unique style. The film begins with rapid editing, whip pans and eccentric camera angles that add dynamic looks to each location and add a fast-paced rhythm to the film. However, as Rachel's illness becomes the center of the story and Greg becomes more integrated with her world, Gomez-Rejon takes more liberties with the editing and holds his shots for longer moments allowing for a more natural and realistic tone. In the scene when Rachel tells Greg that she will no longer continue her chemotherapy, the director maintains the shot on Rachel for five minutes. Greg is in the background but his actions are still visible and the audience is able to see how both characters are affected by this moment. Likewise, Gomez-Rejon uses the long take in a scene when Greg and his mother get into an argument about him losing his spot at college. There is a certain unpredictability to these scenes that make it so dynamic and creates a realistic touch.

The evolution of the editing in the film goes hand in hand with the way Greg creates his life. At the beginning of the movie, Greg is simply waiting for each day to end with no real goals in his life. Then when he meets Rachel, he really starts to create a unique friendship and it is here when he starts to see life in a different way appreciating what he has in front of him.

What also makes this film unique is the use of comedy. Greg is sarcastic at many moments and the voice over that is used throughout adds comic touches and lightness to the film. He constantly reminds the audience that the film will not fall into the trap of a romance, and Gomez-Rejon also accentuates it by showing the audience what it would be if it was romance and what the reality is.

The home videos that Greg and Earl make also add comic moments especially if audiences know what movies are being parodied and referenced. The home videos show various iconic scenes that are subverted for the purpose of making bad movies as Greg notes various times. However, the badness of these home movies only adds to the relationship between Greg and Rachel.

The cast also holds their own and brings sentimentality but honesty to their roles. Thomas Mann gives Greg human qualities and brings to life a truthful teenage boy. Mann's Greg is a sardonic awkward teenager who struggles to fit into a certain group as he describes at the beginning of the film. However, as the character evolves Mann gives Greg more adult-like qualities as the character becomes more benevolent and caring while still maintaining some of the self-destructive qualities from the beginning.

Olivia Cooke also gives a solid performance as Rachel. The character hardly ever feeds negativity and instead gives joy to the others. Cooke plays Rachel with so much energy from faking death to laughing at the home videos to boosting Greg's confidence and forcing him to apply to college. However, in the most emotional and taxing scenes Cooke brings an arresting performance that will likely elicit tears from audiences. For example in the aforementioned scene when she tells Greg she will no longer continue treatment, Cooke begins the scene joking but slowly starts to break and quickly dismantles into an emotional wreck. It is truly a moving scene that shows Cooke's range as a promising actress.

RJ Cyler gives Earl some of the most comic scenes. For example, Earl constantly cracks jokes at the food that Greg's father gives him. One of the most compelling scenes in the film is when Earl confronts Greg, and they have their first fight. What makes this scene remarkable is how unpredictable it is and how Earl can finally bring out the emotions he has had buried inside.

The rest of the cast led by Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal, Katherine C. Hughes and Connie Britton is solid, and they add an array of vibrant and sometimes eccentric characters.    

What makes this movie great is the fact that neither the director nor the cast need to manipulate the emotions. The emotions are earned and honest, and they create one of the saddest, richest and most beautiful movies about cancer in recent times. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" may be comic, but it is surely not an easy viewing. However, the film is rewarding and a truly enriching experience.