The Perks Of Being A Wallflower-review

Once in a while, you watch a film that touched you and leave an impact .That's what The Perks of Being a Wallflower did to me.Directed by the author himself,Stephen Chbosky, the film has  Logan Lerman,Emma Watson,Ezra Miller,Mae Whitman,Paul Rudd and Johnny Simmons as its main cast.

This is movie  about a shy,naive anti-social freshman Charlie who is just about to start his schooling  year and wants this year to be different as he wishes to be more participating  than standing aside.He manages to befriend two of the most outspoken seniors of the school and they introduces Charlie to this new world .As Charlie begins to come out his shell,the fact that his new found friends will be leaving to college worsens his panic attack and brings out a suppressed memory that is the core of his anti-social attitude.

Let me start of by saying I had read the book and its at the top of my favourite book list as it spoke to me in many levels.I have to admit that Stephen Chbosky manages to adapt his novel beautifully into this film.Yes,its a tamer version of the book but  the spirit of the novel is  is present throughout the novel.The only thing I'm disappointed is the decision of Chbosky  made to trim Charlie's relationship with his family members especially his sister from the script.The relationship of Charlie and Candace(Nina Dobrev) is probably one of touching sibling relationship that I've read in a book or watch in a film and its a sad thing he decided to cut it out.However I do understand his decision to cut it off as it deals on more controversial themes like abortion in a movie that is already saturated with sex,drugs and alcohol.

Having a plot that is character driven,the casting  is crucial.That's where Stephen Chbosky strikes gold.The casting in this movie is absolutely perfect starting from  the protagonist Logan Lerman  who plays the shy Charlie to  the smallest role of Melanie Lynskey as Aunt Helen.
Logan Lerman gives a charming,honest performance as Charlie  who wants to be more social this schooling year.He charms the audience with his innocent  and naive looks and deliver a brilliant performance with the right amount of awkwardness and sweetness.He doesn't speak much but he captivates us and make us to root for him.His chemistry with Emma Watson and Ezra Miller is believable.

Ezra Miller coming  fresh from his creepy turn in We Need to Talk about Kevin is the standout of the cast as Patrick,the flamboyant(not that campy),quirky with the over the top personality with a dark painful secret.This character definitely showcases his talent and  how versatile he is as an actor as the character Patrick has two different sides .He really excels in showing vulnerable side of Patrick during the second half and steals the show with nailing the emotional scenes like the post-breakup scene.

Emma Watson as Sam with the tainted past gives a strong performance too.Her matured turn of the sexy Sam who  is trying to be more than her bad reputation definitely leaves Hermione  back in Hogwarts and emerge into a promising star.I do find her American accent quite convincing and its because of her and Lerman's chemistry that their romantic subplot doesn't feels cliched.Its one of those  pure love story  where one only expect nothing but the partner  itself,not even sex.The love story between Sam and Charlie is beautifully portrayed.

Paul Rudd as Charlie's teacher,Mae Whitman as the talkative Mary Elizabeth and Melanie Lynskey as Aunt Helen all gives a good performance with their limited screen time.I have said this before and I'm going to repeat it again.Mae Whitman is definitely one  of the young actress to watch as she is handles both the dramatic and comedic department with ease.In this film she plays Mary Elizabeth ,the chatterbox feminist with a insecure side.

I'm very sure the musical score will be nostalgic to those who grew up in the 90s and there were some beautiful songs that were featured in the film.My favourite would be Asleep by the Smiths.Andrew Dunn the cinematographer had beautifully captured  the beauty of Pittsburgh especially the skyline and its buildings in the night.The scenes in the tunnels are among those visual delights.

I realise that most of the negative reviews of this film tend to focus the fact that the kids in the film speaks like an adult but we have to realise that this film is set during the 90s,pre Internet and pre mobile phones,the  time where kids spend their free times with reading actual books,listening to musics in the radio and poetry.Generally kids at that time are more put together than the kids nowadays.

In conclusion,The Perks of Being a Wallflower is definitely a gem of a film.It has many moments that  is touching and on his way to become a classic and a cult film like its novel.Its definitely moving to my all time favourite  lists of films.

Possible contenders for the following category:
Best Picture
Best Director-Stephen Chbosky
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay-Stephen Chbosky
Best Actor-Logan Lerman
Best Supporting Actor-Ezra Miller
Best Original Score-Michael Brooks
Best Cinematography-Andrew Dunn

A