Review of "The Art of Getting By"
Published 7/16/11
Written and Directed By: Gavin Weisen
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts
Anybody who grew up in New York City knows that the films that evoke a true sense of nostalgia for not just teenage adventures in the city, but a being a teenager at home in the city, are rare. Generally, coming-of-age movies fall more in line with the former and feature New York as some sort of fantastical playground of noise, action, movement, and, at times, trauma. It’s interesting that for a place so often romanticized in movies, the lives of New Yorkers are so rarely featured in a way that feels true. No wonder Woody Allen has such a massive following in a city made up of people that love to feel understood but rarely see themselves portrayed on the big screen with any sort of subtly or understanding.
“The Art of Getting By,” Gavin Wiesen’s writing and directing debut, is a typical indie coming-of-age story in many ways. It relies on a hand-held camera and doesn’t feature any angles that aren’t strictly necessary. It’s about a quirky misfit and his adventures in the areas of school, friendship, and love. It moves as a slow but steady pace, fast enough to keep the attention of its intended audience but slow enough for the indie crowd that is really paying attention to character, not solely the nuts and bolts of story.
In certain ways, however, it stands out in this genre. For one, the kid actors are about as recognizable as the adult actors in the film. Nobody will discover an unknown among the stand-out performances, although they certainly will marvel at how old Freddie Highmore has gotten since “The Spiderwick Chronicles.” The environmental allows the characters to move around unimpeded by practical concerns like distance, time of day, or a lack of places to go, which is often a staple of teenage coming-of-age films.
British kid-acting alum Freddie Highmore is famous for playing the precocious little boy in a slew of British kid adventure movies. His character in “The Art of Getting By” is certainly precocious as well, but also painfully awkward and, for a kid with so much brass, very shy. Freddie does well with this roll, embodying the black-trenchcoat-wearing-kid-from-high-school-that-you-know-is-really-a-nice-person character to a tee.
Emma Roberts, who, plays the opposite type of her NYC prep school good-girl from the movie “Twelve,“ which, in retrospect, nobody saw anyway, plays something entirely different in the pantheon of high school characters in “The Art of Getting By.” Her character’s motives are a little confusing for the audience, since she extends an olive branch to the school loner very quickly and then proceeds to play with his emotions. She’s adorable, however, so the audience is sympathetic even when her character struggles with doing the right thing.
“The Art of Getting By” is sort of a “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” for the more grounded, more New York City-centric set. It is definitely a nostalgic take on adolescence even though it is set in the current era, but it is also thoroughly enjoyable, especially if you’re in one of those reminiscing moods.
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts
Anybody who grew up in New York City knows that the films that evoke a true sense of nostalgia for not just teenage adventures in the city, but a being a teenager at home in the city, are rare. Generally, coming-of-age movies fall more in line with the former and feature New York as some sort of fantastical playground of noise, action, movement, and, at times, trauma. It’s interesting that for a place so often romanticized in movies, the lives of New Yorkers are so rarely featured in a way that feels true. No wonder Woody Allen has such a massive following in a city made up of people that love to feel understood but rarely see themselves portrayed on the big screen with any sort of subtly or understanding.
“The Art of Getting By,” Gavin Wiesen’s writing and directing debut, is a typical indie coming-of-age story in many ways. It relies on a hand-held camera and doesn’t feature any angles that aren’t strictly necessary. It’s about a quirky misfit and his adventures in the areas of school, friendship, and love. It moves as a slow but steady pace, fast enough to keep the attention of its intended audience but slow enough for the indie crowd that is really paying attention to character, not solely the nuts and bolts of story.
In certain ways, however, it stands out in this genre. For one, the kid actors are about as recognizable as the adult actors in the film. Nobody will discover an unknown among the stand-out performances, although they certainly will marvel at how old Freddie Highmore has gotten since “The Spiderwick Chronicles.” The environmental allows the characters to move around unimpeded by practical concerns like distance, time of day, or a lack of places to go, which is often a staple of teenage coming-of-age films.
British kid-acting alum Freddie Highmore is famous for playing the precocious little boy in a slew of British kid adventure movies. His character in “The Art of Getting By” is certainly precocious as well, but also painfully awkward and, for a kid with so much brass, very shy. Freddie does well with this roll, embodying the black-trenchcoat-wearing-kid-from-high-school-that-you-know-is-really-a-nice-person character to a tee.
Emma Roberts, who, plays the opposite type of her NYC prep school good-girl from the movie “Twelve,“ which, in retrospect, nobody saw anyway, plays something entirely different in the pantheon of high school characters in “The Art of Getting By.” Her character’s motives are a little confusing for the audience, since she extends an olive branch to the school loner very quickly and then proceeds to play with his emotions. She’s adorable, however, so the audience is sympathetic even when her character struggles with doing the right thing.
“The Art of Getting By” is sort of a “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” for the more grounded, more New York City-centric set. It is definitely a nostalgic take on adolescence even though it is set in the current era, but it is also thoroughly enjoyable, especially if you’re in one of those reminiscing moods.
