Amy George (2011)

Thirteen-year-old Jesse wants to be an artist, but believes that his mundane middle-class Toronto life has left him unprepared. After reading a book on what it takes to be a "true-artist", ... See full summary »

Directors:

Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas

Writers:

Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas

Stars:

Gabriel del Castillo Mullally, Claudia Dey, Don Kerr

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Gabriel del Castillo Mullally	...	Jesse
Claudia Dey	...	Sabi
Don Kerr	...	Tim
Natasha Allan	...	Tara
Emily Henry	...	Amy
Candice Barkin	...	Liv
Yaari Magenheim	...	Jake
Brian Scott Carleton	...	Mr. Fontana (as Brian Scott)
Andrea Verginella Paina	...	Marianne
Ester Reyes	...	Yetta
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Crasy Benny	...	Pawnshop Owner
Graham Brown	...	Gay Man
Nadya Burton	...	Dobrina
Hannah Ciordas	...	Lindsey
Glenn Clifton	...	Tutor

Storyline

Thirteen-year-old Jesse wants to be an artist, but believes that his mundane middle-class Toronto life has left him unprepared. After reading a book on what it takes to be a "true-artist", he sets out looking for risk, ecstasy, wildness and women. Amy George is a microbudget independent drama about the time in a boy's life when he's at his least likeable.

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Plot Keywords:

microbudget | artist | boy | rape | only child | 

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Taglines:

Do you think you need to make love to be a true artist?

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Riverdale Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 11,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

C&Y

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The characters of the parents, Sabi and Tim, are played by real-life couple, Claudia Dey and Don Kerr.

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Quotes

Jesse: Do you think you need to make love to be a true artist?

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Connections

References Blow-Up (1966)

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Soundtracks

"It's All Worth While"
(2010)
Written and Performed by Lev Lewis
Courtesy of the artist

User Reviews

The awkwardness of late childhood without the polish or glamor.

There is something undeniably authentic about Amy George. Considering how well-worn the traditional "coming of age" tale is, and the great expanse of modern indie takes on the theme, perhaps the film's sincerity is it's most remarkable feat. You might not believe every word a character says or every event that happens, but you do believe that this is what adolescence feels like. Amy George strips away the Michael Cera/Jesse Eisenberg glamorization of awkward and instead reminds us of how it actually felt to go to a middle school dance.

There is an undeniable gulf between the film's visuals and its writing; while the cinematography is approached with a mature artistry the dialogue is clunky at times and the story's structure prefers to linger rather than maintain a steady pace. Interestingly, the dissonance does not feel out of sync with the heart of the film. Jesse, the teen-aged protagonist, would seem completely out of place delivering the well-polished lines of Amy George's Hollywood-friendly equivalent. As every shot of the film displays, Jesse's Toronto is a beautiful place, but at thirteen-years-old he doesn't quite know how to express himself, let alone the beauty around him.

Any of the film's flaws are easily forgivable due to how delicately connected they are to Amy George's greatest and most satisfying merits. After all, being a teenager never really felt like Juno or an episode of Glee. We said stupid things, thought we understood more than we did, and for the most part struggled through the moody atmosphere. The power of Amy George is the ability to earnestly look back at that time in our lives without the taint of nostalgia and remember, or perhaps learn for the first time, the lessons those years bring.