Review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) by Viet Phuong N — 11 Feb 2014

A multi-layered view of the coming-of-age period which is deeply compelling thanks to the well-developed characters, simple yet intriguing settings, and above all, the seemingly straight-forward but deeply emotional and twisted story.

The delight ease of the cast also enhances the fresh innocence of the film, which may bring back a lot of lost memories about the beauty of the coming-of-age period for nostalgic audience, like me. The only, and minor, complaint about the film might be its slow pace, especially in the first half, and the slightly confusing structure (also in the first half), but it is unfair to demand perfection from a first-time director like Chbosky.

Indeed, he did a wonderful job and we, who want to get back some glimpses of our long-gone coming-of-age days, should be grateful for that.