Do You Know 'How To Be'?

I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Las Vegas Film Festival last night and screening 'How To Be', starring Robert Pattinson. The story follows Art (Pattinson), a young musician, as he trudges through a quarter life crisis (I totally relate with this as I, too, experienced one at that age). His girlfriend dumps him forcing him to move home with his emotionally detached parents, he has a couple jobs that he can't stand and some friends that aren't much help to him at all. In an attempt to become "normal" Art hires self-help guru, Dr. Levi Ellington (played by Powell Jones), after reading his book, 'It's Not Your Fault'.

Art is a beautiful mess and Rob did a great job breathing life - or the lack of - into his character. Director, Oliver Irving, excellently shows us Art's internal struggles while doing so with quite a lot of humor. I laughed, hysterically at times, while very nearly being brought to tears at others. Art's friends are played by Johnny White (Ronny) and Mike Pearce (Nikki) and they were so fun to watch. A terrific cast of characters that flawlessly revealed that none of them are even remotely close to being "normal" themselves.

Oliver and the movie's composer, Joe Hasting, joined us in the theater afterward to answer a few questions and a good time was had by all at the sold out event. The movie continues it's American screening tour and will be distributed on the IFC Festival Direct On Demand Channel beginning April 29th. Since, it's not available on satellite, I hope that it's released on DVD before long, as I really want to see it again without all the noise and distractions.

Ultimately, none of us are completely "normal" and sometimes it really is not your fault. It's a good lesson in self-discovery and how the way you speak to and treat people can affect them to the very core of their being. Art tries desperately to figure out 'How To Be', but really do any of us truly know?



This clip from the Director's Diary is from the screening in Austin, TX, when Rob appeared with him.


Director’s Video Diary 1 — How To Be at the Austin Film Festival, October 2008 from How To Be on Vimeo.