The Art of Getting By 2011 Watch Full Movie

The Art of Getting By – Watch Full Movie

Plot Summary

George Zinavoy is a lonely senior at a Manhattan preparatory school with a penchant for drawing and a nihilistic worldview. Obsessed with the inevitability of death, he never does homework and skips school frequently; as a result, he is placed on academic probation. One day while on the school roof, George encounters classmate Sally Howe smoking. When a teacher appears, he pulls out a cigarette and takes the fall for her. They become friends.

George’s Transformation

On Career Day at school, George meets young artist Dustin Heath, who becomes a mentor of sorts to George. He brings Sally with him to visit Dustin at his studio in Brooklyn and it becomes apparent that Dustin finds her attractive. She invites George to a New Year’s Eve party, where she dances with an ex-boyfriend while George gets drunk, goes outside, throws up, and falls asleep on the street. Finding him there, Sally takes him to her place, putting him to bed on a pull-out next to her bed. They grow closer and George becomes more involved in school.

The Conflict

On Valentine’s Day, George and Sally go out to dinner, and she starts asking questions about what he thinks of her. He is evasive, and she asks him if he will have sex with her. When George freezes, Sally backtracks and claims she was joking, as she considers him her only real friend. He becomes withdrawn and leaves early. As George continually avoids Sally and ignores her calls, she meets with Dustin at a bar one evening and flirts with him. Though Dustin initially resists Sally’s advances out of respect for George, they soon begin a relationship.

Resolution and Conclusion

After failing to write his English term paper, George is again sent to the principal’s office. He is given two choices: be expelled, or make up all of the homework he has not done all year. Confronted by his mother and stepfather at home, he responds by telling his mother that his stepfather has been pretending to go to work for weeks. The stepfather attacks him and George knocks him down before taking off. He goes to Sally’s and, in the hallway, kisses her. Sally kisses him back but pulls away, revealing Dustin in her apartment. Devastated, George leaves.

The next morning, George finds his mother in the park and she tells him she is divorcing his stepfather. Consoling her, he begins to rethink his life. He decides to make the effort to do his assignments. His art teacher gives him only one project, which must be honest and fearless. George completes the assignments and takes his final exams. Meanwhile, Sally continues seeing Dustin.

One day, George receives a text message from Sally. They meet and she tells him she is going backpacking with Dustin through Europe and skipping graduation. He tells her he is in love with her and they go back to her apartment, where they kiss. Sally tells him she loves him too and promises they will be together one day.

George turns in all his assignments and the principal tells him he will know he has passed if his name is called at graduation. George’s art teacher commends him for his project. While Sally is at the airport with Dustin, George’s name is called at graduation as his mother proudly watches from the audience. Afterwards, George is in the art classroom looking at his art project, a portrait of Sally. Having chosen not to go to Europe with Dustin, Sally walks in, and the two look at the painting together.

Watch The Art of Getting By for an emotional journey of self-discovery and love.