The Art of Getting By is not the Train-Wreck many critics are calling it. It is a charming, uplifting and emotional movie with a solid script and excellent acting. The story centres around George(Freddie Highmore), a student who believes we all die one day so everything else is pointless. He meets Sally(Emma Roberts) and the pair develop an friendship. However, George may not even graduate from High-School and Sally is becoming attracted to George's artist friend Dustin(Michael Angarano). The Film is well acted by the three leads and the story,while not entirely a fresh idea, holds up well. Despite this, the film does have some flaws. One is the fact that the film wants us to feel for George as he is coping with problems, but all he does is lie in bed without doing anything. Another is the unoriginal story. While it holds up well, the idea has been told time and time again so fans of the Romance/Drama genre may find the story a little to familiar. The third flaw is who it is aimed at. The Art of Getting By doesn't seem to know who it's target audience. It wants to appeal to teens by having a high- school drama and a lead character who some teens may relate to but it also wants to appeal to adults with some serious drama, and it kind of ends up in the middle of nowhere, between the pair. In conclusion, The Art of Getting By is a solid, well acted Drama and if you can see beyond the well-trodden ideas and other little flaws, you may just find a jem.
Review of The Art of Getting By
