{"id":1259,"date":"2011-08-17T23:37:01","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T23:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=1259"},"modified":"2011-08-17T23:37:01","modified_gmt":"2011-08-17T23:37:01","slug":"the-art-of-getting-by","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/drama\/the-art-of-getting-by\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art Of Getting By **"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If coming-of-age, indie-styled films of late will have us believe, every white, privileged school kid is a volatile mass of unresolved angst and superior intellect, waiting to explode on an uncaring, uncompromising world around them. Debut feature writer-director Gavin Wiesen<\/a> has joined the \u2018cool kids\u2019 gang of film-makers, championing the secretly chic and misunderstood nerds with his new drama, The Art Of Getting By<\/em><\/a>, starring a grown-up (and seriously malnourished-looking) Freddie Highmore<\/a> of The Spiderwick Chronicles<\/em> and Finding Neverland<\/em> fame.<\/p>\n

As George Zinavoy, Highmore is a lonely and fatalistic NYC teen who’s (somehow) managed to make it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work. He finally befriends another being on the school rooftop called Sally (Emma Roberts<\/a>), a popular but complicated girl who recognises in him a kindred spirit.<\/p>\n

This highly sensitive and (over) emotionally complex take on \u2018kidulthood\u2019 uncertainties mixes darker moments with tender ones, and reveals Highmore’s blossoming talent into manhood and adult roles. The unfortunate thing for both actor and Wiesen is this side of the adolescent movie market has been well and truly staked by the likes of Michael Cera<\/a>, Anton Yelchin<\/a> and Jesse Eisenberg<\/a>, and is full to bursting with their troubled personas on screen. That\u2019s not to say Highmore cannot join their acclaimed ranks as he performs his best with what he has to play with here, but the inexperienced and rather pretentious and predictable script from Wiesen doesn\u2019t help matters.<\/p>\n

Giving us musical prompts, such as cranking up the tinkling \u2018upbeat\u2019 soundtrack to signify George\u2019s decision to join the real world, is not a satisfactory explanation as to why this over-analytical teen, who almost could be deemed as having a case of Asperger’s syndrome, has decided to join the rank and file of everyday \u2018normality\u2019. If it\u2019s just to get the girl (Sally) \u2013 turning this into a romantic offering, it seems the intellectual George is selling himself short for no apparent reason. Yes, love makes you do the craziest of things, and through Sally, George finally gets his entry into carefree adolescent existence. But if we are to believe that his character is more than your average teen, the transformation is executed in an incoherent manner, undermining what\u2019s special about ‘Teflon slacker’ George and his outlook.<\/p>\n

Communication is the key \u2013 if you are talking the same language. Even though Roberts as Sally sees her kindred spirit in George, being someone locked into performing as she is expected to in life, it still feels a little farfetched that this hip chick would have oddball George round to party on Manhattan\u2019s rooftops with her ultra cool friends, let alone grow to fancy him. Again, \u2018beauty is in the eye of the beholder\u2019 and spotting his artistic talent might be cause enough to get Sally hooked \u2013 and she does make it back from the airport departure gate in record time to see his final art piece, like something from an episode of Friends. Admittedly, Roberts plays the part of \u2018awkward teen in a vixen\u2019s body\u2019 rather well to rival Highmore\u2019s rather unsettling appearance, but hardly gives a defining performance in her career to date. It\u2019s as though Wiesen has restrained some of Sally\u2019s true character traits and feelings in this to focus on the turbulent universe that centres on George, which is a shame for both character arcs.<\/p>\n

Wiesen almost attempts to boldly address teen depression at the start of The Art Of Getting By<\/em>, which could have been a more intriguing premise. He then changes tempo to a film focused on young puppy love and making the right life choices that it feels so uneven at times without a stronger, passionate vein of, say, unfrequented longing, that it goes to confuse both characters and audience in the process, all disguised in quirky, prattle-heavy tension. The good thing is Highmore and Roberts will not necessarily be affected by their turns in this, even though the latter has had her acting wings clipped by her seemingly undeveloped role here, pointing to more exciting talent from them to come.<\/p>\n

2\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

Follow on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

 
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If coming-of-age, indie-styled films of late will have us believe, every white, privileged school kid is a volatile mass of unresolved angst and superior intellect, waiting to explode on an uncaring, uncompromising world around them. Debut feature writer-director Gavin Wiesen has joined the \u2018cool kids\u2019 gang of film-makers, championing the secretly chic and misunderstood nerds … <\/p>\n

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