Me Without You

Director: Sandra Goldbacher
(2001)

Down the road, I wholeheartedly hope that American audiences will finally discover this powerful sleeper in the same way it was in its homeland where it was nominated as Best British film of the year. In the film, the fascinating, evolving relationship between two very different lifelong friends and next-door London neighbors (which spans two decades) is put under the microscope with amazingly believability thanks to performances by Michelle Williams and Anna Friel. Holly, played by Williams, is a Jewish intellectual and her free-spirit neighbor Marina, played by Friel, is a walking emergency—the two sort of balance each other out during their youth, providing comfort and encouragement during the rough times but as they age, the divide grows deeper in their personalities but they still cling to a friendship painfully which begins to affect their relationships with men, education, and careers. There’s so much that can be said about a film which, I feel that most women can identify—I had a friend like Marina that I finally had to set free and I know many other Holly and Marinas out there as well. Wonderful British music and great supporting turns by several actors including Kyle McLachlan as the sexy American professor with whom they both unwittingly become involved—all in all another fine film from Goldbacher.