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Movie Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Movie+Review%3A+The+Perks+of+Being+a+Wallflower

As difficult as it is to turn a well-acclaimed book into a movie, writer and director Stephen Chbosky beautifully executed The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

The story focuses on Charlie, played by Logan Lerman, a naive and quiet freshman in high school. Throughout the film, Charlie tries to figure out where he belongs. He does this with the leadership of two encouraging seniors Sam, played by Emma Watson, and her step-brother Patrick, played by Ezra Miller.

The film includes critical elements from the book, such as Charlie’s letters to an anonymous friend and constant visions of his deceased aunt, Helen, who is portrayed by Melanie Lynskey.

The intensity of the actors’ acting ability is emotionally spellbinding. The depth of Lerman’s acting is a pleasant contrast from the one-dimensional role he portrayed in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief. His ability to be a likeable yet closed-off character makes his appearance on screen gratifying.

As for Watson’s performance of Sam, viewers will not confuse it with that of Hermione Granger from her Harry Potter fame. Sam’s emotion is painted on her face in almost every scene, reflecting the unhappiness of her character.

Lastly, the relatively unknown Miller does a marvelous job of being the passive aggressive character of the story. Miller’s character, Patrick, uses humor as an outlet to defuse the discrimination he receives for being a homosexual. Miller makes scenes believable by showing the vulnerable side of a high school outcast through tears and confessions to Charlie.

Overall, the dialogue between the characters seems realistic because it is written by Chbosky, who is also the author of the novel. In one scene Sam and Charlie talk alone before she left for college. “Why do I, and everyone I love, pick people that treat us like we’re nothing?” asked Sam. “We accept the love we think we deserve,” Charlie replied. Based off of this scene, one can tell that the dialogue is full of intimate themes of love.

All in all, the movie portrayed everything the book had said. The theme of growing up and finding a place in society is one of the main messages. Throughout the movie, Chbosky has the audience believing that through all of the heartbreaks, disappointments and confusion of adolescence, almost everyone figures out where they belong.

Aside from the movie, the soundtrack has artists such as The Smiths and David Bowie. Charlie and Sam regard these artists and more as “good music” while the rest is “wretched top 40”. This music gives the movie an indie feeling, which is exactly what being a wallflower is all about.

This rare tale of coming of age will make the audience laugh out loud and burst into tears. The authentic conversations of the characters are deeply filled with emotion and heart, making the film worth watching. To either reminisce the old days or to use as a handbook in high school, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a movie that should not be overlooked by anyone.

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