Perks of Being a Wallflower: Movie #32

Do you ever feel inadequate? As if your validation is based upon what others want you to be? Your permanency is vaporized and you are just a leaf on the wind of the world, going where you are forced or beckoned?

Well join the fucking club, I guess.

I suppose I never realized that people often felt the same way I did, or had the same experiences, or neuroses about their lives. It’s not that I’m self-centered, but rather, I didn’t know that others felt like that. Because it’s not something you talk about. These feelings are often repressed and shoved away. Saved for a therapist’s office, or the inevitable mental breakdown. So when I finally read Perks of Being a Wallflower, I was amazed that someone knew exactly all the feelings I knew.


(via imdb.com)

The book became incredibly popular very quickly, and was adapted for the screen by the author himself. The story is about a boy named Charlie (played by Logan Lerman) who is about to start high school. He’s mourning the death of his beloved Aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey) and he’s writing these letters to an anonymous someone because he wants to have at least one friend out there that knows all about him. He befriends Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson), step siblings trying to make their way through the muck of high school. His love of literature leads him to a close connection with his English teacher Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd). As his first year of high school unfolds, Charlie experiences the ups and downs of being a teenager, of feeling inadequate, and struggling to understand himself.

I finally had the opportunity to go see the film; my hectic schedule made it difficult to fit in. I was not disappointed. The selection of the cast was wonderful. All three of the leads exhibited their talent in drama and use of emotion. The soundtrack and cinematography were also done quite well. I give the movie an 8.5 out of 10. The deduction is based on content excluded from the film. Since the film wasn’t incredibly long, clocking in just over an hour and a half, I was disappointed at some of the scenes that were neglected. I don’t want to go more in depth, lest I spoil something for someone. I have heard a rumor that one of the main scenes I noticed missing was filmed, but cut from the final product. I cried when I read the book, and I cried when I saw the movie. It’s a fantastic read for anyone who felt like they didn’t belong anywhere in high school.