Within the last twenty-five years an enormous burst of creative production has emerged from American "independent" filmmakers. From Stranger than Paradise (1984) and Slacker (1991) to Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003) and Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), indie cinema has become part of mainstream American culture. But what makes these films independent? Is it simply a matter of budget and production values? Or are there aesthetic qualities which set them apart from ordinary Hollywood entertainment?
'Me and You and Memento and Fargo' argues that the American independent feature film from the 1980s to the present has developed a distinct approach to filmmaking, centering on new and different conceptions of cinematic storytelling. The film script is the heart of the creative originality to be found in the independent movement. Even directors noted for idiosyncratic visual style or the handling of performers typically originate their material and write their own scripts. By studying the principles underlying the independent screenplay, we gain a direct sense of the originality of this new trend in American cinema.
'Me and You and Memento and Fargo' offers a positive account of the various options open to the independent screenwriter. The book shows the broad range of creative principles that have been used in the narrative construction of independent films. One consequence of this is to show the uniqueness of this phenomenon by positioning it as a hybrid form that exists somewhere between the classical Hollywood tradition and "art cinema."
