9/26/12-The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Back in 1999, a novel written by an author named Stephen Chbosky was published by MTV. Years later, it has sold a lot of copies and recently, it was  adapted to a movie.

Lead by Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller with a supporting cast that features Kate Walsh, Paul Rudd and Nina Dobrev, it's a coming of age story that will move the emotions of its viewers. It is set in the 90's where people make mixtapes, watch The Rocky Horror Show and listen to bands like The Smiths.  The people who lived through that era might experience a bit of nostalgia with that alone.

In the book, the story is told through a series of letters written by Charlie, played by Lerman, which the movie follows. The movie is also directed by the book's author so you can expect that they tried to follow the book as much as possible. They did leave some storylines off the movie but it was probably due to the lack of screentime and it was still able to deliver a good story even without them.

Charlie is a high school freshman. He has a good relationship with his parents, his siblings and he is a good writer and is a smart kid. However, he doesn't really have a lot of friends in school. He's often ignored or made fun off. We later find out that his best friend shot himself and had a traumatic experience in life that is shown in the movie through flashbacks. From there, he befriends with the seniors played by Watson and Miller. The major story of the film is about his journey from dealing with his family issues and in his relationships with his new friends. We see him fall in love for the first time and commits some mistakes here and there. The movie also shows some issues that society dealt with in the past such as how homosexual relationships were still taboo. I was sad that they didn't show Charlie's sister having an abortion like she did in the book; in fact, his sister, played by Dobrev, was a bit underutilized in the movie. I would have loved to see more from her.

I love the acting from all actors. They pulled off their scenes on point and gave us a glimpse of how the teenagers were back then. Readers of the book may be surprised to see a more flamboyant Patrick, played by Miller, but I'm glad they made his character that way. Most of the film's humor came from him and yet he also delivered some of the dramatic scenes in the movie. I'm not sure if the award-giving bodies will recognize this movie but whether they do or don't, the actors deserve to be recognized for their talents.

The soundtrack was good and the general tone of the film is nostalgic enough.  I will surely buy the DVD of this movie cause I want to see this again. I actually feel like reading the book again.

I recommend this movie to everyone. It is definitely one of my favorites of the year. 

"We are Infinite"