¨We accept the love we think we deserve.¨
This was truly a wonderful and beautiful film.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those rare teen movies that feels
honest and authentic. We`ve seen similar stories told in other movies, but not
in the same way that Stephen Chbosky tells it here with such a natural flow.
This is Chbosky`s first major film as a director and he does a brilliant job by
giving us a heartfelt authentic teen drama with some very funny moments and a
romantic love story. This film is based on Chbosky`s novel which he also
adapted for the movie, and his passion and love for this project really comes
through in the film. I don’t know if it could have worked as well as it did if
it weren’t for the three leading performances from Logan Lerman (Percy
Jackson), Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin), and Emma Watson (Harry
Potter). They were perfectly cast in their roles and they had such great
chemistry together. This film made me even more excited for Aronofsky`s next movie,
Noah, considering that Emma Watson and Logan Lerman were both cast in it.
Watson and Lerman share some unique and emotional moments together on screen,
but the true star of the film was Ezra Miller who delivered a very powerful
performance as Patrick. His role was very different from the one in We Need to
Talk About Kevin, and he was just so amazing. The film isn’t afraid to tackle
dark subject matters such as homosexuality, mental illness, and child abuse,
but Chbosky manages to tackle these issues in an honest way while mixing these
dark moments with some humor. Ezra Miller really facilitates those transitions
with his performance. The Perks of Being a Wallflower reminded me of some other
indie teen films that I liked such as The Art of Getting By and It`s Kind of a
Funny Story, but it also has a sort of late 80`s vibe to it that reminded me a
lot of Dead Poets Society (one of my all time favorites).
The film takes place during the 90`s in
Pittsburgh where we are introduced to Charlie (Logan Lerman) who is about to
begin his freshman year in High School. His best friend killed himself a few
months ago and he is going through some sort of mental illness as he
experiences black outs and has flashbacks of his Aunt who passed away when he
was little. He is quiet and nervous about his first day in school and finds it
difficult to make new friends, but when he meets Patrick (Ezra Miller), an
outgoing and friendly senior, his life changes completely. Patrick introduces
him to his stepsister, Sam (Emma Watson), and the rest of his friends who call
themselves The Wallflowers. In his first party with them he accidently gets stoned
after eating a brownie and everyone becomes amused with him and his honest
remarks. Charlie feels accepted and begins to enjoy spending time with the
group, especially with Sam. Sam begins dating a college boy, and Charlie ends
up forcefully dating Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman) since he is too nice to say
no. Charlie dreams of becoming a writer and he really enjoys his classes with
his English teacher Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd) who sees a lot of potential in
him. Despite being very smart, Charlie has trouble communicating his feelings
to others, and after experiencing a setback with his friends he begins to
suffer more black outs. The question remains whether or not he will find the
courage to express his feelings towards Sam before the year is over, and if he
can unlock the secrets from his past that he is restraining.
There are several things that reminded me of
Dead Poets Society although this film doesn’t focus as much with students
bonding with their professor, Lerman does share some interesting scenes with
Rudd, the professor. Lerman reminded me of the young and introvert Ethan Hawke,
while there is also the issue of one of the students fearing what his father
might think about him. Ezra Miller is sort of the Robert Sean Leonard
character, although the fears he faces with his father are manifested in his
boyfriend and not him, but he does have that sort of outgoing personality and
also acts in a play honoring the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Wallflowers do
have some similarities with the Dead Poets Society, but this film does have a
much more romantic side thanks to the chemistry between Lerman and Watson. We
all saw how Emma Watson grew in the Harry Potter franchise, but here she
delivers her best performance to date. I already had liked her in her small
role in My Week with Marilyn, and here she gives a believable performance as an
American girl. Her accent was just perfect and I really loved her performance.
Lerman and Miller also have a great future ahead of them and they proved their
talent here in this film. There are also some smaller performances from known
faces such as Dylan McDermott and Kate Walsh who play Charlie`s parents and
Melanie Lynskey his aunt. Joan Cusack plays a doctor and Johnny Simmons is
Miller`s love interest. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is really a well
crafted film worth checking out as one of the best teen movies of the year.
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