How to Be

I was one of the lucky ones to see this movie at Slamdance. I absolutely loved this movie.

"This is not your typical Robert Pattinson movie. He doesn't play a good-looking, heart-throb. Robert plays Art, an insecure, confused, depressed, misfit who has no direction, no real social skills, and no support from his parents. His only love is music, but he sucks at that too. After the break up from his girlfriend, he basically looses it and has to move back in with his parents. This is his struggle to become "normal" so his parents and friends will accept and love him. He even goes to the extreme of hiring a self-help professional to help him. You will feel so sad for Art – trust me! Don't get me wrong, this movie contains endless British humor to lighten the subject up.

A wonderful independent movie with a great message. A job well done for Robert Pattinson.

The funny thing about this film is in the first 3 minutes I'm saying to myself, that's Cedric Diggory, being the ignorant American I am. But after the 4th minute I could see no one but Art, the lovable and pathetic loser who just doesn't know how to get a handle on his life because he has no one to validate his existence. His parents loath him, his girlfriend dumps him, and his new age therapist seems to need Art more than Art needs him in the end. I came home from seeing this movie at Slamdance and described it to someone as "my life, except 20 something, and a guy, and in London, but other than that, EXACTLY my life!" The people I saw it with at Slamdance didn't get it, but they had much more "normal" upbringings. Like I said, I loved this movie because I could identify so much with it, and at the same time it was almost unbearable to watch because I saw so much of myself, the parts I'd rather leave to my own past. I commend the cast and crew for a very funny and heartfelt movie, and recommend everyone watch it with an open mind. It may not be your life, but it was someone's.

I attended the DC Independent Film Festival's screening of How To Be here in Washington, DC.

I loved it! I like quiet little movies like this. It's all dialogue-rich, and location sets, and natural composition. I thought the casting was perfect: the characters were organic and realistic, other than Dr. Ellington (the personal therapist) who was supposed to be a caricature rather than a true character in the film. This gave it a subtly surreal dynamic, which I thought was a nice touch.

The script was great, IMO. I generally like good character sketches, though, so I suppose I could see people who are not interested in the same being less than thrilled with it. But I like the themes that Art brings to the story. They are typical and simple themes, like love, direction, family, friends, work, sadness, happiness. The characters are wholly irreverent and hilariously unique. For a very small film, this script is nicely fleshed out.

The direction, production, and editing were great! I didn't catch any mistakes. They had a thorough cinematographer, too. I thought the lighting was pleasing, and the sound was mixed/edited nicely.

And yes. Rob Pattinson's performance is stellar. For being a self-proclaimed "untrained" actor, he's got such a wonderful and daring on-screen presence. Art is pathetic...so freakin' pathetic. And Pattinson embodies him with such precise depth. His comedic delivery, his physical timing, his vocal performance; I swear, it's all flawless. He really reaches inside himself to find that space where depression and anxiety live, and he dives into the process of putting himself back together again. You really root for the guy, pathetic as he is. As Pattinson's fame swells exponentially in the coming years, this one will become a sleeper testament to his acting chops--teeny bopper vampire love stories be damned.

A young man is a psychologically mess... his girlfriend leaves him, he doesn't mesh well with his friends, he loses his volunteer job. He turns to the strangest place for help: a Canadian therapist who moves in with him.

This is director Oliver Irving's first and only film, as of this writing. And it's a good one. It is an IFC film, and there's no denying it fits in that category alongside Wes Anderson films and perhaps "Garden State". This won't be as big, and with good reason, but thanks to Robert Pattinson's popularity, it will get more viewings from people who would otherwise never have heard of it.

I really enjoyed the therapist (who sadly appears to have passed during the making of this film). And Pattinson does a fine job as a whiny nerd. His character is incredibly annoying, but such a different one from "Twilight" or "Remember Me" that it gives me the sense that he just might have a bit of range inside of him and may someday break free of the Edward Cullen trap.

After spending some time in the UK I honestly thought I get British humor. After watching this, I truly think I don't.

Although the movie is well produced, the character of Art played brilliantly by Pattinson, I found myself feeling mostly sorry for him and not seeing the funny part. I see the great job of all the people involved in the production but I can't say it suits my type of sense of humor. There were moments I smiled or half-smiled but never laughed at loud.

So, over all, I don't regret watching the movie, neither would I recommend it as a great, funny comedy .