The Go-Getter

Sophomore director Martin Hynes (The Big Split) has most likely made a cult film that will draw young audiences in years to come. The Go-Getter is a road picture that follows 19-year-old Mercer (Lou Taylor Pucci), who steals a car in his staid Oregon hometown and heads south to track down his estranged half-brother Arlen (Jsu Garcia) in Mexico, who doesn’t know their mother has died. The twist comes when Kate (Zooey Deschanel), the car’s owner, keeps phoning Mercer on the cell phone she left in her vehicle. For much of the film, Kate is a disembodied but seductive voice who predictably falls for Mercer and hooks up with him later. In the meantime, Mercer traces his brother’s footsteps by visiting an art commune where Arlen once worked (and gets punched for it) and picks up former classmate Joely (Jena Malone), who drops E with Mercer and tries to steal his virginity. With a nod to idol Wong Kar-Wai, Hynes tells Mercer’s journey in first-person narration and dreamy musical vignettes. This style is charming and carries the film over the predictable patches of story. Pucci makes for a believable hero but Deschanel outshines him in yet another top-notch performance. The DVD is generous with special features, starting with a warm and insightful commentary by Hynes and co-star Nick Offerman. A few minutes of test footage are edited together to show how Hynes and cinematographer Byron Shah experimented with different filters and exposures ahead of the shoot. This begs more exploration. In contrast, a "20 Questions” featurette is strictly for fun, as Hynes quizzes his actors and producers as they drive. There’s also an iPod-friendly version of the film.