A pinch of wry fatalism, and the ability to step back and view the trials and tribulations of adolescence as moments in time, fixed suffering on a much broader horizon, is an attractive quality in teenagers (and especially so once they age out a bit more, into their twenties, and begin to reflect back on younger years). It’s that sort of emotionally jumbled ironic detachment that drives writer-director Gavin Wiesen’s feature film debut, The Art of Getting By, a coming-of-age tale in which bright but undermotivated slacker George (Freddie Highmore) is befriended by and finds a kindred spirit in Sally (Emma Roberts). I had a chance to speak one-on-one with Wiesen recently, about his previous filmmaking experiences with Gwyneth Paltrow’s dad, the fierce hormonal grip of teenagedom, and his movie in general. The conversation is excerpted over at ShockYa, so trip over there for a look.