Review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) by Guido M — 24 Oct 2014

You can tell by the title that this movie is yet another film about misfit teenangers trying to get a hold of life. And while everyone is a misfit themselves, I think that this film is also relatable because it tells the story of a high school friendship tha tis so faithful it can either bring back memories or intensify the actual happennings. In a word, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is perky.

Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a freshman at High School with a turbulent past, and he is having a hard time to fit in. Luckily, he finds the oddest couple of friends: Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson). Together they will live the most exciting year of their lives, and luckily for us, we will be there to see it.

Throughout the movie we get small hints towards Charlie's past troubles, and although the reveal could be more effective, the movie still manages to tickle our heart strings by being purely human and understandable. The acting is a little bit stiff: Lerman is good, Watson could use some help though. Ezra Miller is just pure excellence. He is well into character all the time, and he also benefits from an equally riveting role.

The film tackles almost every "teen misfit" issue of the 21st Century: Homosexuality, domestic abuse, drugs, alcohol, etc. The scope may be large, but Stephen Chbosky, the writer of the book as well, in his directorial debut, manages to keep the storyline smooth at most times. You may feel you are sometimes seeing a showcase of troubled teenage lives, but as soon as the film realizes this, it gets back into knitting this characters into a satisfying, sweet, heartfelt conclussion.

This is a feel-good movie that has also some deep glimmers of tragedy, but is mostly a solid, quirky dramedy with lots of heart.