Watch 'You Hurt My Feelings' Online Now

You Hurt My Feelings at ReRun Theater

Two of the cutest little girls I've ever seen on film are Lily and Violet Collins, the daughters of filmmaker (and former Austinite) Steve Collins, who included them in his 2011 feature You Hurt My Feelings. They are unscripted and adorable onscreen. Now you can watch them too, because Oscilloscope Films has just made You Hurt My Feelings available to rent or buy as streaming video on iTunes and Amazon. Read Elizabeth's review from the movie's Austin Film Festival screening last year.

The above photo is from a recent weeklong run of the movie at reRun Theater in Brooklyn (I've been there! It's a very cool place to watch movies). That's Steve Collins next to his daughters, and actors John Merriman and Courtney Davis on the right. Merriman told me this photo is the girls introducing the film and telling the audience to stay around for the Q&A afterward.

My description makes it sound like You Hurt My Feelings is about two little girls, but in fact the focus is on their nanny, John, played by Austin actor Merriman. The film has very little scripted dialogue -- the kids know Merriman well and their scenes with him are generally spontaneous -- and is about the relationship John has with Courtney, played by Davis. (My guess is that the characters are named after the actors to make it easier for the girls.) Courtney leaves John for Macon (Macon Blair), and John's emotional upset is written all over his face, even as he plays with the children.

While I could preface nearly every person involved in this film with "Austinite" or "former Austinite," You Hurt My Feelings was shot over the course of nearly a year in Connecticut, where the Collins family now lives, and which actually has four real seasons you can see beautifully represented on film, which often subtly complement the character's emotions. I recommend seeing it on the biggest screen you have in the house, and carving out time to pay attention -- this is not a movie you want to watch while folding laundry or chatting online with your sister.

And for those of you who worry you might find it difficult to sit through a deliberately paced film with little dialogue and no musical soundtrack, Merriman told me that during the reRun screenings last week, Lily and Violet sat and watched most of the movie themselves in the theater. Surely you have a longer attention span than a toddler.

Here's one more photo of Lily and Violet from the reRun screening. This one is with reRun curator Aaron Hillis, yet another former Austinite.

You Hurt My Feelings at ReRun Theater

To find out more about You Hurt My Feelings, you can read Slackerwood's interviews with Steve Collins and John Merriman.

[Photo credit: Photos courtesy of John Merriman.]