I don’t cry in movies. Like never. But goddammit, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl took me to the brink.

A funnier, quirkier and better version of The Fault in Our Stars (which I also liked), Me and Earl follows intentional nobody Greg, who spends his days making film parodies with high school classmate Earl, and otherwise trying to skirt under the radar. Things change when he is forced to befriend Rachel, who has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Me and Earl won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and for good reason. Featuring terrific performances, a sharp screenplay and witty direction by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, the movie hits all the right notes.

Thomas Mann is great in the lead role, a complex character that could easily have veered into annoying territory if not done right. The 24-year-old superbly plays Greg as a neurotic, emotionally distant teenager who hides behind humor; he’s like a version of Shia LeBeouf that you don’t want to punch.

He’s matched stride for stride by Olivia Cooke, who delivers a believable, nuanced and memorable performance as “the dying girl.” She and Mann have wonderful chemistry together, which is highlighted even more by the fact that Me and Earl is not a romance. At least not in the traditional sense.

Though Mann and Cooke will get most of the attention, RJ Cyler is also terrific as the third title character.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is first and foremost a comedy, an off-kilter high school tale about friends doing what friends do—hanging out, doing stuff, and navigating the fragile social web of teenagers. The movie, working from a script and novel by Jesse Andrews, is often hilarious, full of sharp dialogue and clever situations.

But it’s powerful, too, and scene-by-scene Andrews and Gomez-Rejon peel away the layers to get to the film’s emotional core. Thanks to the writing and the performances of the three stars (as well as Molly Shannon), Me and Earl and the Dying Girl offers one of the most honest, touching and emotional third acts you’ll see all year. The movie’s final scene caused a strange sensation in my eyes, like a misting or something like that, that I’ve rarely experienced. I don’t cry in movies, and I didn’t here, but I came damn close.

And damn it for causing me to come that close. Funny, honest, and emotional, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is easily one of the best movies of the year.

Review by Erik Samdahl.