Gettin' Grown

Getting Grown was one of my favorites at the Mpls St. Paul International Film Festival in '05. It's a very simple story, the main character has to go to the pharmacy for his mom and on the way encounters all sort of distractions, a basketball game, a conniving uncle, and even the police. The production value is low, and the performances are varied, but it's shot on the streets of Milwaukee and it really feels like a summer afternoon in the neighborhood, but where the main character is old enough to run into troubles that might be more than he's ready to handle. As far as mood goes, the only movie I can think of to compare it to is The Straight Story, but you know, without the tractor.

"Getting Grown" is a great title for this movie. While watching this film I see pieces of myself as a child trying to make the right decisions, but often finding myself distracted. Sometimes I still see myself getting steered away from my goals even as an adult. All who see this movie will find a piece of themselves, or a relative in it. This movie is an eye opener for all parents who have teens. The movie displays real life situations and the choices that our children have to make. I think this film would be a great teaching tool for those organizations that work with preparing children and teens in seeking their own independence.

"Gettin' Grown"... Directed by University of Alabama Professor Aaron Greer, shot in his native Milwaukee, "Gettin' Grown" is not only a logistically simple and involving story, but also an honest allegory for childhood; or rather, the end of childhood. It chronicles the journey of young Eric, the day before his twelfth birthday. He has been sent across town to fill a prescription for his grandmother, and along the way, he encounters the pratfalls and temptations of urban life and community. The film never exploits or overexposes, but rather shows urban life at face value. Eric's choices are broad strokes of everyday life; the burden of community care, prioritizing family and society, and most of all, economy. Fulfilling economical cycles is the main tenant of adulthood in the world of "Gettin' Grown": that is, once the idea of limited resources is realized, one's ability to grow manifests itself completely.

The acting Greer pulls out of his cast is extremely natural and organic, and his allowance of improvisation perfectly suits the mood and ambiance of Eric's universe. Coupled with this improvisational dialogue comes improvisational cinematography. Like Spielberg's "War Of The Worlds" and Joe Carnaharn's "Narc", the ever-nervous, ever eye-level documentarian's camera makes the world of the film fully realized and organic. We never doubt for a second that there is a fully fleshed-out universe outside edges of the frame.

The overwhelming element of "Gettin' Grown" is maturity; never do emotions or situations become overblown or unnatural. Greer uses restraint and emotional steadiness as intelligently as the most detached European directors. His film is the perfect example of a piece that is accessible to both children and adults, on simultaneously similar and different levels.

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