I love a film that feels like a really great book, especially when it falls under my favorite “women’s fiction” umbrella (and yes, I still HATE that publishing term). Me Without You (Disc/Download) is exactly this type of movie, full of complex characters, pitch perfect style, and the realistic portrayal of a toxic female friendship. Written and directed by Sandra Goldbacher, this one will have you itching for a cozy night in bed with your books and fingerless gloves while the world outside feels like a cocaine-fueled underground party in the ’80s. (And yes, you can probably already tell which of the two women pictured above I most relate to. Although, to be fair, Anna Friel’s leopard coat IS fabulous.)
Holly and Marina (Michelle Williams and Anna Friel) are childhood friends, growing up next door to one another in an English suburb. Holly’s the shy one, Marina the bold one, and their codependent relationship carries them through thirty years of bad boyfriends, wild fashion fads, and family drama. At first we feel sorry for Marina, coming from a house where mom (Trudie Styler) likes to drink gin & tonics in her shag-covered sunken living room while dad is out cheating with anything that moves, but her constant betrayals of Holly become almost too much to bear. Sabotaging any chance her friend has for happiness, over and over again, we start to see how manipulative and needy this girl really is. Honestly, if I were Marina, I’d have been done with this relationship the second my “friend” fashioned an unflattering dress out of a garbage bag on their way to hang out with The Clash, but that’s just me.
Shot in Surrey and along the coast of the Isle of Man, this movie is extremely British. Therefore it calls for one of my favorite British exports, Sloe Gin. A simple drink gussied up with a little edible glitter, I can almost imagine Marine and Holly mixing this on their endless afternoons when they’re so bored. Frankly, until they’ve experienced a pandemic lockdown, these girls don’t know “bored”. While watching Me Without You, I recommend drinking a Sloe Gin Mule.
Sloe Gin Mule
2 oz Sloe Gin
3/4 oz Lime Juice
6 oz Ginger Beer
Pinch of edible glitter
Lime Slice
Build drink over ice, stirring gently to combine. Top with lime slice, and a pinch of edible glitter.
With a fantastic soundtrack, gorgeous costumes, and stellar production design, this movie completely immerses the viewer in the decades of the late 20th century. It may not have been based on a novel, the likes of which Holly would love to write, but Me Without You still feels perfectly literary to me. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 