The Perks of Being a Wallflower Reviews

A well-written, nostalgic feeling look on high school through the eyes of a freshman (Logan Lerman) battling depression after his best friend commits suicide, and how he finds a new group of friends that show him their problems too, including an attractive girl (Emma Watson) who seems to only date jerks. While definitely cliched in aspects, this movie has an aura of positivity about it despite all the internal sadness that ultimately makes it a winner. Sure, you could probably call some things coming, but the performances all-around, from Lerman, to the phenomenal Watson, as well as Ezra Miller as a gay student, all do a great job capturing the highs and lows of that stage in life. The revealing twist near its conclusion is shocking but extremely well-handled. A solid movie that should make the three leads stars for the future.

Okay, okay... I'll give this movie its props. The emo factor initial turned me off, but the chord of the final chapter so perfectly summed the emo theme that I hit the credits with a satisfied buzz. Sometimes, an satisfying ending is all a movie really needs.

This is second outing from writer/director Stephen Chbosky and shows a real talent from him. I haven't seen his directing debut The Four Corners of Nowhere, but all i can say that The Perks of Being a Wallflower made an instant impact on me. Here is a film that manages to be honest, authentic, funny with truly grim undertones. It never becomes too melodramatic or preachy. And while at the first sight it just feels a bit too calculated work, it quite fast emerges into a completely of it's own kind of film experience with distinctive voice and style.
Chbosky's strenght lies in his ability to tell a story and create a solid characters who feel true and who we actually care for. These people in film are not just some regular caricatures, these characters feel like a real persons and much of the praise must go to the young cast also. Film's leading trio Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller all give outstanding perfromances with emotional depth. Especially Lerman is fantastic as a sweet natured teenager with a troubled past. I already liked him in the underrated fantasy film Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and i do think that he has a potential to become something very great as an actor.
As a director Chbosky is not that interested in visual stylistics. He has a great understanding of pacing film and he gives enough time to his characters to truly breath. I also admired the fact that not even a once he stumbles to any cliches when it comes to narrative. This film was a great surprise and i would love to see what Chbosky does next as a filmmaker. The Perks of Being a Wallflower might not be masterpiece but it is a damn close from being a one.

Certainly one of the finest films to have ever addressed the trials and tribulations of being a teenager, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a film that paints a very authentic portrait of it's characters and their individual angst. What could have been been a cliche ridden after school special is instead a film that hits all the right notes in it's uncommonly thoughtful and compassionate approach. Fine work from Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and especially Ezra Miller in an instant classic of it's genre.

A precocious but unpopular high school freshman finds friendship (and love) in a group of misfit seniors. This coming of age drama has a very John Hughes-y feel, right down to the 80s soundtrack, but with dark undercurrents; should please bright teens and nostalgic adults.

There're so many rich, fascinating character details, it's a shame the to-screen adaptation wasn't a TV series order.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a beautiful yet tragic story of a boy named Charlie who is haunted by his past. The movie didn't feel like another 'teen flick'. It didn't even feel like a movie. I felt much like I felt after reading the book, like I just experienced something. The movie really did the book justice. I enjoyed it just as much and the actors did an amazing job in their roles.
It's a story of a troubled young man who has had awful things happen to him and to people he cares about and not having the emotional ability to deal with any of it. Sooner or later it all becomes too much for him, which leads him to finally remember what he's been blocking out for so long. It's really a sad, dark, but touching story. It really takes a strong person to live with the struggles of the way he is feeling. It's not easy to feel trapped in those emotions and try to live a normal everyday life. Especially when you're as lonely as Charlie is. It's a great character study film and book that should be seen and read."

A heartfelt, but also at times heart-wrenching, coming of age tale with imminently likable leads who take material that isn't the most original in the world and makes it feel alive and refreshing. You will surely find one of the characters identifiable to yourself when you were in high school and the film does a great job of giving every character a chance to develop while not taking away from the others. The reason I liked it so much is because Charlie was basically me in high school, minus some of his mental issues (although I had mental issues of my own in high school and could instantly identify with his problems). The performances are just fantastic to go along with everything else. Logan Lerman plays Charlie and even though he is the most reserved, I thought his performance was the most impressive. He usually plays much more uptempo characters and I wasn't his biggest fan up to this point, but he nails it. Emma Watson does not at all remind you of Hermione, which is good because that role will forever define her. It looks like she'll be able to move on just fine. Ezra Miller is an up and coming actor and based on his performance here, I'm interested in seeing him more. The rest of the cast is filled with veteran performers like Paul Rudd, Joan Cusack, Dylan McDermott, and Kate Walsh, but most of them have very limited screen time and only Paul Rudd really leaves an impression. The movie was directed by the author of the novel, which is really cool in my opinion. I haven't read the book, but I've read that he doesn't slavishly adapt the material which is quite an accomplishment. He clearly knew what needed to be in the film and what didn't. My only real complaints are minor, but I think that much like every other movie based on high school, they do not realistically portray high school. There's some bullying obviously, but not this much and not this severe. Some of the other small subplots don't get their due as well, like the one with Charlie's sister and her abusive boyfriend. Otherwise, this is a fantastic film and one of my new favorites. It touched me deeply and I just loved every character.

Awesome

A bit of an emotional nostalgia trip about the difficulties of growing up as a teenager. Well acted, well scripted and solid all around.

WHAT A GREAT MOVIE! With tears still in my eyes, I am able to admit - I am a wallflower! No movie has ever related so well with my teenage years. GREAT acting by ALL!

Slow moving, but really good. Great soundtrack too. Very different role for Emma Watson. I was impressed!

Though with an unnecessary twist and a few clichés in a plot that could have certainly avoided them, this is a very sincere and involving drama about what it is like to be a teenager trying to find his place in the world - and its strength lies in three excellent performances.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a touching, heartfelt and funny film from first time director Stephen Chbosky, who also wrote the script and wrote the novel. Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller give absolutely fabulous performances that deserved Award attention especially for Ezra Miller. Besides some flaws and confusion (maybe a second viewing is in order), I had a great time watching this film. The performances add humanity to the wonderful script, and the characters are so normal, that everybody can identify with them somehow. See this film, you won't regret it.

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'. Three stand-out performances. One of the most emotional, touching films of 2012. Moments matter. Simply beautiful.

And speaking of moments, this film is filled with so many, each of which would stand on its own in others as *the* highlight. The toast at the first house party, the homecoming dance, Secret Santa, first kiss, the fight at school, Sam's farewell, the reaction of Charlie's parents when they find out what happened to him, that last ride through the tunnel. All emotionally draining, tonally dead on.

More times than not movies about high school get it wrong. Whether it's the actors, the stories, or just the overall feeling of inaccuracy,it just rarely feels authentic. "Perks of being a Wallflower" is one of those movies that gets it all right. The story is one that almost everyone can relate to in some way shape or form and the performances are all fantastic. Logan Lerman stars as Charlie a freshman who starts high school with no friends, a messed up past, and he struggles with mental illness. He literally counts down the days to graduation, then things all change when he meets Patrick(Ezra Miller) and Sam(Emma Watson) a couple of sibling seniors who befriend them and welcome him to their group of friends. From there Charlie gets his first kiss, his first girlfriend, great highs, and the lowest lows you can imagine. The film is funny, sweet, smart, sad, and above all else genuine. Lerman and Miller are two young actors to watch, because they are both amazing in this. Watson also shows she isn't just a harry potter one trick pony. In terms of high school movies I would put this right by "Breakfast Club" because it gets the underlining pain of being 16 so perfectly. This is one of the best movies of 2012, and just proves that independent movies are alive and well.

With a strong cast and a strong story, Perks of Being a Wallflower is emotionally powerful despite a few awkward moments. The movie is beautifully crafted and filmed which makes up for the presence of some unavoidable cliches.

We are infinite.

Excellent Film! The story is very simple yet complicated because of how much goes on. But the way it unfolds is beautiful and sad, sometimes all at once. While it has its funny moments, it also manages to go through dark topics as well such as homosexuality, drugs and death. Stephen Chbosky handles his story very well, never feeling like it's being forced but rather it flowed nicely and carefully. Directing wise, it was shot very well. The cinematography is gorgeous, especially the scenes where the camera overlooks the skyline of Pittsburgh and during intimate scenes between the characters. You could not get anyone better to direct it other than the author himself because this is his book. This is his vision so he knows exactly how it goes in his head and we can see throughout the film, just how much his vision has truly come alive. The result is both engaging and satisfying. Emma Watson did a great job playing as Sam. She is very beautiful and charming. As for her American accent, I thought she did an okay job. There were times where you can kind of hear her British accent slip in and even though you notice it, it's nothing distracting and it didn't really bother me. But you have to give her credit for trying her best and she truly did. I enjoyed her performance very much. What makes the cast so special is the chemistry. Everyone got along so well and you can tell that they're very comfortable with each other and you feel convinced that these people are really friends. It was absolutely perfect. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is best if you can actually relate to the lead character or have experienced the struggles of being an adolescent. When it's not depressing, the film goes to those blissful moments that make us remember the good times in high school. Overall, it's a great film. It's a film adaptation that replaces the cliché mainstream swagger with some painful realities and simply let the audience understand the whole point of it. In the end, it's quite a remarkable film.

Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, this is about 15-year-old Charlie (Logan Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs. The introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who welcome him to the real world.

Whenever a teen movie proclaims to be real and emotional or in any way authentic, I immediately have my doubts. It very rarely goes well and there are far more cases of the film coming off as weak and childish than there are cases for the other side. Perks of Being a Wallflower, happily, is a win for the latter as it achieves that elusive goal; a teen movie with an adult's brain.

Stephen Chbosky has adapted his own book for the screenplay and this is easily the film's biggest strength. Chbosky's understanding of his own material and instinctive understanding of how to show the most he can while saying as little as possible works wonders in making the characters come to life. The story is a slight one, a boy-meets-girl story when it really comes down to it, but Chbosky weaves in themes of death, prejudice and child molestation throughout the film. While this makes the film more complex and thus a lot more interesting to watch, it also has a tendency to overcomplicate things somewhat. In spite of this, Chbosky is able to create a real and interesting matrix of characters who are each different without seeming like that's their only purpose. And in his two lead characters he has constructed something of a marvel. Charlie is withdrawn and scared; a social outcast who would rather blend into the rest of the class than answer a teacher's question or imagine his last day of school to get through each day of his freshman year. He is an enigma when we meet him and he'd like to stay that way. Before he meets Sam. Sam's effervescence forces Charlie out of his shell; a place he's not used to but somewhere he wants to be if it gets him closer to Sam. In one beautiful scene, Charlie takes to the dance floor, forcing one foot to land in front of the other on his way, drawn almost supernaturally out of the comfort of the shadows towards Sam. It's a scene which will resonate with anyone who's ever felt out of place in lights and music and pulsing crowds and it's written with brilliant restraint by Chbosky. The relationship between these two characters is compellingly written and heartbreakingly beautiful at times. Chbosky spends time on his supporting characters as well, with an awkward and frustrating sub-plot between Charlie and punk/Buddhist Mary-Elizabeth and a story of love and rejection with the flamboyant Patrick and his lover-in-denial Brad. These characters could easily crowd out or overshadow the central pair but Chbosky's refusal of cliché and ability to find real emotion within teenage dialogue means that we can't wait to get back to Sam and Charlie's slow, painfully realised relationship. Making the transition from book to screenplay can be difficult, especially if the book's author is unwilling to ruthlessly cut his work down to size, but Stephen Chbosky manages with ease, incorporating most of the book's story as well as leaving time for characters and scenes to breathe.

He fares less well with his direction. It's not that there's anything particularly wrong with how Chbosky points a camera, but the occasionally clumsy shot and almost complete lack of dynamic means that the camerawork is mostly stagnant throughout. While the script more than makes up for this, a good DP and some clever camerawork would go a long in taking this film from good to great.

Perks has a fantastic soundtrack, with songs from David Bowie to Crowded House as well as The Smiths, apparently a romantic-comedy must have since (500) Days of Summer set the trend in 2008.

The script and soundtrack are not the only good points to the film and the last comes through the performances. Logan Lerman plays Charlie with just the right mix of unease and naiveté without milking it, steering his character clear of becoming a stereotype. He struggles a little in more overtly emotive moments but he shines in the little things, subtleties and nuance which he uses to make his character a real human being instead of a person on a screen. It's a great performance which easily carries most of the film's plot. But it's Emma Watson who's given the chance to shine here. With Hermione's ghost still looming over her, Watson breaks free completely from her former role which could have easily overshadowed the rest of her career. She is fantastic as Sam; completely desirable and incredibly cool, it's easy to see why Charlie is so instantly smitten with her. But beyond the initial attraction, Watson manages to imbue her character with wonderful depths of emotion which make her character shine all the more. While these parts of her personality can mostly be attributed to Cbosky's script, Watson's ability to encapsulate all of these traits so completely shows just what a powerhouse this star can be in future, more challenging roles. Ezra Miller's "queer as a three dollar bill," Patrick is another character which could so easily have slipped into cliché or patronisation but instead is complex, enthusiastic and the film's comedic hub. Miller is fantastic as his ostentatious counterpart, completely dominating the screen any time he's on it. Scott Pilgrim alumni Mae Whitman and Johnny Simmons do well in their roles as punk, Buddhist mash-up Mary-Elizabeth and jock-with-a-secret Brad respectively. Whitman's role is a little more prevalent thanks to a short-lived but hilariously awkward sub-plot and she does well as Chbosky's version of Overly Attached Girlfriend. Nina Dobrev has a small and mostly forgettable role as Charlie's sister after a spousal abuse sub-plot is brought in and then just as quickly forgotten, really the only character to not get a fair go from Chbosky's script. Charlie's parents have almost as small a role in proceedings despite being played by relative heavyweights Dylan McDermott and Kate Walsh. They both do well with what little they're given. Paul Rudd has a small but enjoyable role as Charlie's favourite teacher, Mr. Anderson. Rudd's charms are as affecting as ever and he adds a welcome dash of adulthood to the proceedings.

But the reason that this movie works is the way Stephen Chbosky brings these characters together to create one of the smartest, funniest and emotionally affecting teen films in years. Rather than talking down to the target audience, Chbosky credits his viewers with a level of intelligence not found in the more mindless of the masses. This may not impress the Twilight crowd for instance and people who saw Harry Potter for the effects who are just following Hermione may not come out of the theatre as impressed, but those looking for a smartly written, occasionally touching, brilliantly acted teen film will find everything they're looking for.