Weve long seen the teary melodramas featuring a character with a terminal illness.
When Greg first meets Rachel, he makes it clear hes only there because his mother has forced him.
For her, the fewer people that know about her diagnosis, the better.
Image via Searchlight Pictures
Cooke immediately establishes Rachel as much more than a dying girl.
Rachel is not interested in being the protagonists pawn for his self-fulfillment journey.
Cooke brings sincere heartache and anger to Rachel’s insecurities, conveying just how deeply it’s affecting her.
Image Via Fox Searchlight Pictures
Rachel is also grappling with the painful reality that she probably doesnt have much time left.
Cooke gazes at the cover like its a mirror of painful reflection.
After a pause, she asks if she can finish watching her movie instead of paging through it.
For Rachel, Greg and Earls movies become a newfound source of comfort and escape as her health declines.
As she gets sicker, she gets quieter and unhappier.
Cooke must not only emotionally but physically embody her deteriorating condition.
Her voice grows weak, and her eyes appear tired and lifeless.
She stops laughing at Greg’s jokes because she doesnt have the energy to laugh anymore.
While Greg is in denial about the severity of her illness, Rachel is forced to reckon with it.
Despite her cutting words, Cookes expression reveals the deep hurt beneath them.
As they watch the short film, Rachel begins to struggle to breathe.
