It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

George is clearly a very intelligent young man with an artistic gift, but he is merely 'getting by' because he is so disillusioned with the world he sees around him that he just doesn't see the point in following the traditional study - work - family track laid out for him. Let's face it, he's not alone in that - I think a lot of people would find this film interesting on a personal level (and not only teenagers!). It is to George's credit that his principle and teachers are rooting for him, given his absence of effort coupled with a level of honesty that sometimes crosses the respectful boundary, basically because he is fortunate that they recognise his basic goodness and innocence. They do have their professional obligations, however, which leads to George being given an ultimatum if he intends to graduate. Those same interesting qualities are presumably the reason he hasn't been marginalised by the other students, but is the one who chooses to stay apart - this is clearly a rather special school! There is one person he has noticed though, and when she corresponds a relationship develops. And as with any couple who are afraid to make a commitment without being sure their romantic feelings are reciprocated - exacerbated by George's lack of skill in dealing with human relationships; he's probably borderline autistic - confusion about where their relationship is headed leads to complications. I won't spoil the journey by giving away any more though - it's a film worth seeing for yourselves.

Well, this is a film that I found very interesting to watch, as well as review.To start off, let's talk about the positive. Emma Roberts, one of my favourite actresses, delivers another stellar performance, combining the beauty, charm & open-minded traits to her character. The music used is very appropriate & emotive, allowing the viewer to relate to each scene.But now, the negatives. The negatives involves the story line sadly, as it left me very emotive & compelled me to write my first review for a long time. First of all, the character of the protagonist is such a self-righteous c**t that he brings pessimism & pain onto others. He causes a confrontation between his stepfather & himself, whilst his mother is too lenient on him, thus meaning he continues into wallow in self-pity until his family's debts causes him to finally get his diploma.The other negative I had with this film, is that Roberts' character is like a Hollywood promotion of cheating. She gets rejected by the protagonist, goes after his painting idol, then decides to cheat on the latter with the former. Eventually she ends up with the protagonist, but the feelings of the painter are never explored once he is left hanging high-and-dry in the airport. Amazingly, the film somehow works itself out in the end. Don't get me wrong, this was actually a really enjoyable film, but the message being sent is that it is OK to be pessimistic & a complete misery to be around, at the same time its OK to cheat on someone because she 'loves' someone else!

This film is incredible. I loved it and will treasure it. What I loved the most was how it spoke to me. The acting was superb and the fact that they are of similar age to the characters makes it so real.The Film is about a teenager called George (played by Highmore) and how he thinks that we live alone, die alone and that life is just an illusion. He fears life itself because it gives him a strong awareness of his mortality making everything seem meaningless. At school his attitude to learning is poor and to his teachers he can do much more. He has this angle playing relationship with his principal, as he has been sent to him umpteen times, and he stresses to George how important his senior year is. He gives George a warning.home it is George, his Mother and step farther. He has a different relationship with both of them. With his Mother he really cares for her and wants what is best for her. With his step father it is the complete opposite and they don't see eye to eye much.George goes on the roof to contemplate and meets Sally (played by Roberts) who is smoking on there but is not supposed to and he covers for her. She waits for him after school and introduces herself to him and asks him why he never does his work. He tells her that he is a misanthrope not by choice just a fact. His attitude to life changes after he meets Sally because he starts seeing life differently and begins to introduce himself to the world by designing a poster for one of her friends' New Year's Eve party. Whilst skipping school with her, he sees his step father walking across the street when he should be working. The principal catches wind that George has this new circle of friends and blackmails him into attending the career day to be a helper, as he was caught smoking on the roof. He meets Dustin, who is also a painter. George gets inspired by his speech and shows him his book and they build a relationship and he invites George to his studio. George tells them that whenever he visualises a subject he feels that he is being something he is not and Dustin tells him to exercise the muscle or else it will never happen.He takes Sally with him and Dustin asks if they are together and George reiterates how they are friends and Dustin says he will leave it alone. On the way home Sally asks George if Dustin said anything about her and he lies.George, Sally and her friends party during New Year's Eve but George gets lost and winds up outside and passes out. Sally finds him and takes him home and puts him to bed, after he tells her that she is amazing. He wakes up to see her asleep. He goes back to sleep to wake up with the knowledge that she has seen something up that every boy knows too well. Sally's mum tells her, during the evening, that messing around with the affections of the good guys is not right and Sally rejects this notion of her relationship with George and insists that they are just friends.During Valentine's Day, Sally puts George in an environment that is severely uncomfortable and he inevitably takes it the wrong way and becomes convinced that their relationship is all a joke. They reach an impasse and don't speak to each other. George goes incommunicado and tortures himself with the same song and snaps at anyone that speaks to him. Sally finds Dustin and asks if he has seen George and then they start to get close.George's luck of not doing his school work catches up with him as he is summoned to the principal and he is given the choice of expulsion or completing everything assignment, paper and exercise that he has been set this year within 3 weeks. At first he chooses expulsion and is given time to think it over.The news is passed on to his home and a big argument happens resulting in his step father injuring himself as he wrestles with George, after he exposes him for not actually working when he is meant to and spends his days wandering the streets like a homeless person. George runs to Sally's and relentlessly knocks on her door. She opens the door and he kisses her. She kisses him back then stops him. She opens the door and he sees Dustin. He leaves the apartment and Dustin catches up with him.After an emotional scene a heart broken George leaves. He spends the next few days contemplating and meets his Mother in the park where she tells him that she is getting a divorce as he frequently lied to her and forced her to put herself financially at risk and now they have to sell their home. George agrees to do the mission impossible and is given a break when his Art teacher only asks for one assignment, which is to draw something meaningful and fearless. He finally speaks to Sally after school and he tells her his situation. She texts him to meet her and she tells him that she is going travelling with Dustin and she will be leaving tomorrow on graduation. He confesses his love for her and they share a kiss or two...George asks her to stay. Sally tells George she loves him too. George begins his mission impossible and his Art subject slowly takes formation. At the end of the film we finally see what it was! - Sally. She comes back after leaving Dustin at the airport, during final boarding call, and she still hasn't decided what she is doing. What she does know is that she will be going this unknown with George.

...about these characters? Not I, after watching this teen puppy love snoozefest.Spoiled white urban teens with piles of money, natural slender good looks (though the female lead looks about 12 years older than the male, here--fire the makeup person!), plenty of money to buy clothes and cosmetic dentistry, no real talent and no real problems still manage to make whining about how hard life is into full-time occupation. The only enjoyment I had from the movie was imagining alien faeries zapping them away from their cell phones, 2000 square foot New York apartments, private schools, and laptops and into a tin hut in Zimbabwe where they are starving, beaten daily, and dying of a dread disease. Or maybe a giant meteor could have just exploded over the private school depicted and saved the world from all of these types. The lead male character is all angsty about being an artist when he draws crappy stuff like any 12- year-old boy does. I thoroughly hated the lead characters, couldn't have cared less if they slept together in their self-centered ways or not, wondered why the rich private school didn't have a depressive kid in therapy, did not believe for a second that young people this rich and pretty wouldn't have oodles of friends. I assume I'm seeing the filmmaker making a film about his own life, and I don't like him one tiny bit after seeing this. A star above 1 because the mikes seemed to work and most of the scenes were lit, and the music was okay. But ish, these characters!