When on Earth did the little boy from Finding Neverland and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory grow up? When did he get so... tall? I'm talking about Freddie Highmore of course, who plays George Zinavoy in this film. George is a master of just going through life without doing anything. He's just waiting for his life to be over, because what's the point? He's not depressed, he's just not interested.
Until he meets a girl, Sally (Emma Roberts, who's quickly becoming the new Ellen Page). Sally introduces George to a life he didn't knew existed, where things are fun and light and where he isn't as irrelevant as he seems to think he is. And to top it all off, he finds a mentor, Dustin (Michael Angarano) who helps him with his art and with his feelings for Sally.
This isn't a perfect movie. There are a lot of flaws, but there is something at the core that makes this film really special. It feels kind of of real, without being too raw and depressing. It makes you remember how it felt to feel irrelevant to the world and how the things that should have mattered to you, didn't. As a teen, you are utterly lost in this world and we really get a good sense of it, without the film becoming too sad or wallowing in the drama of it all.
But as I said, it isn't a perfect film. I was excited when I learned Michael Angarano was in this film but I was very disappointed in his character. Dustin could have been a very rich, very influential character, but ended up being rather dull and meaningless. If they made him more important to George, more of a mentor who gave him guidance and advice, his relationship with Sally would have felt more like a betrayal than it did now. If Dustin had a bigger role in George's life and in this film, the betrayal would have felt worse, because George would have been betrayed by the girl he loves without actually knowing it and the guy he hopes to become one day.
Emma Roberts is quickly becoming the new teen-indie-queen. And I'm actually growing more and more in love with her. She can portray such raw and real emotion without being melodramatic which is rare these days. She is stunningly beautiful but in a very familiar way, we don't see a Hollywood superstar, we see the girl next door. Freddie Highmore is surprisingly good, but sometimes I wished for him to show more emotion or at least a few more facial expressions. But all in all, the cast is good.
I do have to say one more thing. I loved the ending. It was sweet and lovable, without being sadly clichéd. It was a happy ending, not a sappy ending. That said, this is a little gem of a film. It's not perfect, it's not directed by James Cameron or Christopher Nolan, but it's sweet and it's the perfect thing to remind you how it felt to be young and lost and finding your way out of it.
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