Based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky, 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' is a true coming of age story. Charlie (Logan Lerman) is about to start his first day of high school and basically has no friends. He has always been on the outside and following a year out of school dealing with mental illness and a friends suicide, Charlie is thrown back into school life. Two seniors, Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), take him under their wings and show him how to make the most of his time at school and bring him out of his shell. The film's journey through adolescence shows everything from first love and epic parties to heartbreak and dealing with the struggles of the past.
I am sure this film probably means quite a lot to a significant number of people. The book was highly popular amongst the teen audience when it was released and I am sure the film adaptation with bring the current teen audience around to the book in a similar way. However, as someone who has never read the book and didn't really know much about the phenomenon of 'Perks', I went in open minded.
To start off, this film is not a happy clappy type of film. Whilst having a comedic edge the undertones of the storyline are hard hitting and emotionally charged. This line between humour and drama is walked very well by the film-makers and the balance is a great asset to the film overall. This is demonstrated perfectly through the soundtrack which is as key to the film as I am told it is to the book. The music blends perfectly with the storyline of teenage years and struggling through life and helps to express the true emotion of each scene.
With regards to the acting, I was pleasantly surprised. Having recently seen Logan Lerman in 'The Three Musketeers' I wasn't expecting him to be able to hold the lead role of this film with much confidence. How wrong could I have been. He manages to perfectly portray the shyness and insular nature of being a wallflower whilst mixing in both the new found ability to relax and let go with the torment of mental illness and the effects of his past. Emma Watson also emerges as a star in this film, well and truly breaking free from the chains of Harry Potter and proving herself as a talented actress. To anyone who doubts her acting skills from the HP franchise, I would suggest you watch this film and give your opinion a bit more thought. Ezra Miller rounds off the trio with a great performance matching that given in 'We Need To Talk About Kevin', and the three of them together make this a great film to watch.
Overall, I really loved this film. It is in no way a typical teen film and I am sure will be able to stand up to the success of it's literary counterpart (which I am about to start reading).
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