How to Be (2008)

A young man having an existential crisis convinces a Canadian self-help guru to come to London and become his personal life coach.

Director:

Oliver Irving

Writer:

Oliver Irving

Stars:

Robert Pattinson, Rebecca Pidgeon, Powell Jones

6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Pattinson	...	Art
Rebecca Pidgeon	...	Mother
Powell Jones	...	Dr. Ellington
Jeremy Hardy	...	Jeremy
Michael Irving	...	Father
Mike Pearce	...	Nikki
Johnny White	...	Ronny
Alisa Arnah	...	Jessica
Joe Hastings	...	Dave
Biddy Rowe	...	Woman at Old House
Tim Rowe	...	Boy at Old House
Bart Kusse	...	Child Art
Augustin Irving	...	Child Father
Mirabel Kelly	...	Woman in Supermarket
Bernard Kelly	...	Landlord

Storyline

At first fancying himself an "enigmatic poet", twenty something Art gradually realizes that he must take action if he's going to escape his depressed life as a struggling musician in London. A solution comes in the shape of a book titled "It's Not Your Fault". Not content to just draw inspiration from its pages, however, Art invites the elderly author of the book to come live with him and his parents, which quickly becomes a painfully funny journey about dysfunction and growing up.

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Plot Keywords:

self help | musician | therapist | camaro | break up | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes we all need a little help

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Come solo tu sei

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

How To Be Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song in the trailer is the 'Hammond Song' by The Roches.

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Goofs

During the bar scene, the level of beer in Art's glass jumps around several times, from nearly full to nearly empty and back again.

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Quotes

Art: Mum, Dad, This is Dr. Ellington. He's going to make me be more normal. He's very, very famous. Very, very successful.

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Connections

References The Karate Kid (1984)

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Soundtracks

Process 1
Written and Performed by The Rollercoaster Project

User Reviews

'How To Be'....Melancholy

'How To Be' starts off strong but quickly turns into a drawn-out yawn of a movie. The plot progresses slowly and the character development of Art, played by a blasé Robert Pattinson, turns the viewer from understanding and caring (about what happens to his relationships) to annoyance. His mates are, in my opinion, there to fill the gaps in the story- they really never help Art in his quest for 'normal' and to be blunt- it was too difficult to understand what they were saying (at one point I had to turn on the subtitles so I knew what was going on) this is never a good sign.

There is hope, however, for the young Mr. Pattinson. Though Art seems like a lost cause from the first moment he lies, Robert in a small way- keeps this movie a float. At some points Art is such a downer (which is brought on by his own doing) that I found it hard to 'put' myself through the rest of the movie. There are comedic moments when Pattinson is charming and moments when he holds your attention (close to the end) but it does not change the outcome of the overall film witch just leads one to believe- yes, sometimes we all need a little help- and in this case it is the film that needs it.

'How To Be' could be considered an art house flick but it is 100% and Indie drama. The settings are the streets of England and the overall production creates the feeling that you are standing in the midst of their conversations (when you can understand them) and the music helps the movie along nicely, but then again the music is by and large,too drab.