Ivan Kander
Okay…okay…Me & You from writer and director Jack Tew is clearly a film predicated on a gimmick. But, much like another pick from a few years back, Blind Spot, or even Short of the Week award winner Orange Drive, it’s a supremely well-executed gimmick. In this case, we watch an entire relationship unfold from a single vantage point—that of an overhead view of a young man’s bedroom.
Really, though, things aren’t as naughty as that location might ostensibly indicate. Yes, you do see the stuff you’d normally see in a bedroom—sex and sleeping. But, beyond that, you see a relationship develop. Considering the whole film is told from one angle, it’s a surprisingly complex little short. As the relationship changes and evolves, so too does the room. From neatness to cluttered chaos, revolving until the cycle starts anew. Oddly, the godlike perspective doesn’t make the film feel voyeuristic, but rather it’s quite sweet. Backed by a lovely score, we watch the ups and downs, the illnesses and healthy times, the dance parties and the fights. Despite the fact that this is a film centered on two characters whose faces we can barely discern, we grow quite an attachment to their journey. Admittedly, I feel like the film runs a little long, but I deeply respect Tew’s commitment to his story. He’s obviously aiming for your heartstrings. And, you know, what? That’s okay…he totally succeeds in hitting them.
Bedrooms appear to be inspirational locations for Mr. Tew. His previous staff-picked short, One Night Stand, features a similar preoccupation with couples and places of slumber. With Me & You he’s refined his approach, combining the humor of his earlier effort and supplementing it with heart. It also helps that the film is gorgeous to look at. Lensed by director of photography David Wright, the film manages to cram a lot of visual wonder into its single angle. The lighting changes are especially well-crafted. If you’re interested, be sure to check out this great behind the scenes video, which reveals how the physical set was built and how some of the more complex maneuvers were accomplished. As the BTS video shows, it was quite a lot of work to achieve what superficially might seem easy to pull off.
Be sure to keep up with the upcoming projects of Jack Tew and his producing partner, Sorcha Anglim, via their facebook page, Feels Film.