Getting to Know You (1999)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Lisanne Skyler

Writers:

Joyce Carol Oates (stories)
Lisanne Skyler (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 September 1999 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A chance encounter alters a teenage girl's perception of herself and her outlook on life.

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Heather Matarazzo	...	Judith
Zach Braff	...	Wesley
David Aaron Baker	...	Dr. Clarke
Catherine Anne Hayes	...	Large Woman
Craig Anthony Grant	...	Ticket Clerk
Michael Weston	...	Jimmy
Richard Bright	...	Elderly Man
Celia Weston	...	Bottle Lady
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Trix
Mark Blum	...	Darrell
Bo Hopkins	...	Officer Caminetto
Tom Gilroy	...	Jimmy's Father
Tristine Skyler	...	Irene
Sonja Sohn	...	Lynn
Richard Alliger	...	Blackjack Skeptic (as Rich T. Alliger)

Also Known As:

Getting to Know All About You (USA)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

SearchParty Films

Trivia:

The movie Dreamland, also directed by Lisanne Skyler, appears on a cinema marquee.

A powerful movie that sneaks up on you, highly recommended.

This is a film drawn from the literature of Joyce Carol Oates, a synthesis of several short stories written into a powerful script which really highlights the talents and abilities of this cast. Well-acted, well-directed, and technically excellent, this film has superior production values in every way.

Heather Matarazzo is brilliantly believable in her role as Judith, an apparently quiet and vulnerable young woman, who we find is strong and resilient once we get to know her better. She, Zach Braff as her brother, Wesley, and Michael Weston as Jimmy, the denizen of the bus station, form the core of this powerful ensemble piece. The characters are played with real personality and a lack of stereotype.

Judith and Wesley are the above-average children of Trix and Darrell, two initially likable, but dysfunctional, parents outstandingly depicted by Bebe Neuwirth and Mark Blum. In its way, this is the antithesis of many "teen" movies, and refreshingly so. Part of the strength of the movie is that nothing is obvious, nothing gift-wrapped, the complex characters never fully explained.

The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, a tribute not only to the actors themselves, but undoubtedly to the fine directing as well.

A brilliant piece of writing, the story is both simple and complex. It is slowly revealed, rather than simply told, and at every point along the way, you are engaged in its unfolding. Vignettes carry the story along, some told from the point of view of Jimmy, the mysterious kid in the bus station, others through the recollections of Wesley and Judith. Slowly, the characters, and we, come to understand their own reality.