Rating of
3.5/4
Adorable realism.
memento_mori - wrote on 07/04/13
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an adorable movie. It is so adorable because it is so relatable, capturing the good and bad of high school in a nut shell. Everyone knows what it was like to go to school (I hope), and have experienced what is portrayed so delicately in this film.
I read the book to this film, and I must say that the book is a lot more explicit, but it's beautiful.
The author of the book actually directed this film, which really surprised me; you don't see that too often.
The starring trio are the high point of this movie:
Logan Lerman is good as Charlie the misfit and it's great to see Emma Watson in something other than Harry Potter (not that she wasn't good in those films). Ezra Miller is phenomenal. He has solidified one hundred percent that he is a great young actor.
In We Need To Talk About Kevin (the most disturbing film I've seen in my life), he played a creepy, desolate, EVIL person and here he's so happy and uplifted.
The script (also adapted by the author) has very good dialogue with some interesting references to pop culture of the early 90s.
The direction is outstanding. It's not only impressive that a first-time director who is actually an author successfully adapted a book, but that he made it extremely well is very impressive.
There are some great shots and use of lighting in this movie, especially while driving through tunnels or during close-ups of the actors.
The weak link of this movie is kind of ironic, because it only works precisely because it is so relatable.
This movie is touching and heartfelt, but it is only because most have experienced this themselves. It is not purely original, it is just the biggest homage to high school imaginable.
But, that doesn't bother me. It's still beautiful. Stephen Chbosky outclassed himself with this tale of teenage, feeling left out, friendship and the perks of being a wallflower (haha, pun).
