Posted: 12/09/2011

The Art of Getting By

by Amber Burnham

Now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The Art of Getting By is a romantic change of life story about a fatalistic teenager named George Zinavoy (Freddie Highmore). Since George does not see the point in life because he has realized that everyone is going to die alone, in the end he does not put forth the effort in his every day activities. This means that he has no friends and has gone the majority of his senior year of high school without doing a single homework assignment. He ends up meeting Sally (Emma Roberts), who shows him that there may be something to life other than just passing the time until death.

The performances in The Art of Getting By are wonderful all around, in particular from Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts. The two have great chemistry on screen and they are able to portray what the characters are feeling without having to say it outright. This is a good change to movies where the only way you know what is going on inside the characters head is to have it blatantly stated. Being able to read the eyes and actions of a character is a refreshing movie watching experience and these actors do an amazing job at giving that to you. Within minutes of the movie you have become endeared with Highmore’s character, which helps in the areas where the movie lacks a little.

The romance in The Art of Getting By is realistic of one you would see in a couple of teenagers. George has been a loner for so long that he cannot reconcile the feelings he is having for Sally, never the less tell her or act on them. Sally has had so many boyfriends of a certain type that she does not see her quirky new friend as a potential love interest. This is played out great between the characters, as well as adding in interactions with others around them to reinforce how they feel. You hope that the relationship will work for the sake of George, even though there are times when the character of Sally makes you wonder if it is fated to fail.

While the romance is done well, unfortunately the section about George figuring out that life is worth it and suddenly wants to work hard to make sure that he will succeed, seems to be thrown in at the end. Despite the great portrayal of the character of George, in the writing he does not show signs of change until the very end where it is a major three-sixty almost seemingly out of the blue. The reasons for him to want to change have been set up during the movie but George does not even try to act on these changes although his character states that he has been trying the whole time. Based on the character that has been built, it does not seem unrealistic that he would choose the path he did but the way in which it was written seems too fantastic and out of tune with the rest of the movie.

Overall, The Art of Getting By, is an endearing story of a boy who finally finds reasons to look forward to the rest of his life. The entire cast is wonderful to watch, with many great performances which make the movie really worth watching.

Special Features on the Blu-ray includes audio commentary by director Gavin Wieson, HBO First Look: The Making of The Art of Getting By, Fox Movie Channel Presents: In Character with Freddie Highmore, New York Slice of Life, On Young Love, and the theatrical trailer.

Amber Burnham has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Kendall College. She is also a regular panelist on Kichicast, the all-girl, Chicago-based podcast devoted to anime, manga, and Japanese culture. You can listen to Kichicast at kichigi.com.

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