Directed by: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Dylan McDermott and Ezra Miller
What It’s About: A disturbed freshman finds consolidation in the friendship of two “happy-go-lucky” seniors.
Rated PG-13 (for mature thematic material, drug and alcohol use, sexual content including references, and a fight – all involving teens)
Runtime: 103 minutes
By Shelby Clemons, Staff Writer
Filmmakers take a treacherous road when they decide to turn books into movies. Often times, fans of the books are disappointed because the movie versions are not what they picture (ahem, basically every book series gone Hollywood). Luckily, The Perks of Being a Wallflower makes this transition successfully and is definitely not a letdown.
True to the coming-of-age novel it is based off of, the film follows troubled teenager Charlie (Logan Lerman), still reeling from the death of his best friend and struggling to fit in as a freshman in high school. The film opens with Charlie writing to an anonymous “friend” through letters he pens to tell his story. His struggles end when he meets seniors Sam (Emma Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller) and they take him under their wings.
Realizing that while Charlie has no friends, he has a unique way of truly understanding people, his new friends dub him a wallflower and change his life. With a new circle of friends and plenty of new experiences, Charlie finds high school a lot easier.
Despite his newfound teenage bliss, there is also all the angst that comes with being a teenager, including tragedy, heartbreak, bullying and meltdowns. Constant flashbacks throughout the film hint at the surprising reason for Charlie’s issues, which isn’t revealed until the end. But, fear not, Charlie constantly grows and this is where the oh-so-inspiring charm comes into play.
The cast does great justice to the novel. Emma Watson has proven she’s moved on from her Hermione Granger days, fitting her character Sam like a glove. She’s exactly the fun-loving yet emotionally scarred girl depicted. Ezra Miller is as eccentric as the gay Patrick is in the novel, and each and every character is developed enough to play an important role.
Having experienced screenwriter Stephen Chbosky as both the author of the novel and director of the film makes for the success of the novel-to-movie transition. But, despite the stellar attention to detail, the other elements of the movie besides its plot are not very impressive. The film strays little from mediocre filming techniques, but moviegoers will see that the big focus is the plot itself.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, in both its novel and film forms, is an excellent and inspiring story that anyone can relate to. It’s a must-see for angst-ridden teens, parents of said teens and film buffs alike.
8/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aog8680PVmU
Courtesy of sacredmargins.files.wordpress.com