The "coming of age" genre has always been really hit or miss for me. I seem to be one of the few people that hates most of the cherished coming of age films like: Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and Superbad. That's not to say I hate every film in this genre, I just find that I like one in twenty, and that's a very generous estimate. Needless to say, I was not expecting to love Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age story about a quiet, loner boy named Charlie (Logan Lerman) and his struggles with being a freshman in high school (among other things.) He befriends a group of seniors: Patrick (Ezra Miller), Sam (Emma Watson) and Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman). I'm not going to say much more than that, to avoid even the slightest bit of spoilers. The story covers everything from drugs to just how awkward it is to be a teenager. Let's just say that it's all about high school life and how it can get very complicated.
I was really impressed with what Stephen Chbosky did with his own material. Normally, you would think that having the book's author write the screenplay and direct the film would be a great idea, but I was a little worried by this concept. When adapting a screenplay, it's important to know exactly what needs to stay and what can be removed, and I was really worried that Chbosky might be too attached to his own material that he wouldn't want to slash it up. This could have led to a very lengthy, drawn-out film that would have bored most people. Thankfully, he didn't do that. The script for this film was really well done. All of the dialogue seemed really well placed and well phrased. It made the entire film seem like every scene was absolutely crucial to the story. Though there were a few lines that made me look at the screen and say "what the fuck?!," I'm assuming they would make a little more sense if I had read the book.
On the other side of the coin, Chbosky also directed the film. That part I can't say I was super impressed with. He didn't do a bad job, and I think he did pretty well for his second directing gig, but it didn't really wow me. There were a few really pretty shots, like Sam going through the tunnel, or Patrick and Charlie looking out over the city, but overall it was fairly mediocre direction. I do see some real potential here, though, so I hope he directs more things and tries to experiment a little more. Some of the drug related scenes were strangely reminiscent of Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream. But they weren't nearly crazy enough to impress me.
I think the real strength in this film was (surprise, surprise) the acting. The three leads (Lerman, Miller, and Watson) all delivered very moving performances. Let me just give a quick sound bite about each one. Ezra Miller has been in my sights ever since he blew my fucking mind in We Need to Talk About Kevin. After that I knew he was destined to be one of this generations best actors, and he hasn't disappointed me yet. I would love to see him do more mainstream stuff like this. Hermione Granger...I mean, Emma Watson was great in this as well. I really love how quickly she has gotten into meaty, emotionally demanding roles (a far cry from what she was doing in HP.) After a brief but important role in My Week with Marilyn, I was glad to see her tackle something like this. I can't wait to see her do more (like The Bling Ring!)
Logan Lerman was the only actor that I was slightly worried about. I've only really seen him in family-oriented, not-so-hard roles like Percy Jackson and Three Musketeers. Knowing this, I didn't really know how well he could carry a very serious coming of age film like this one. Clearly, I was worried for no reason. Lerman absolutely blew me away with his acting range. His character goes through such a roller coaster of emotions throughout the entire film and Lerman didn't miss a beat. It was really stunning to watch, not only the character grow through the film, but also the actor. This film was a big step in his career, and I'm hoping he takes more roles like this in the future.
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Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the best coming of age films that I have seen in a long while. While I do have some problems with the scripts, and found the direction to be lackluster, the film really hit me hard with it's deeply emotional themes. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get choked up a little bit at the end. I highly suggest this film to anyone and everyone.
Writing: 8/10
Directing: 6.5/10
Acting: 9/10
Pacing: 9/10
Rewatchability: 8.5/10
Score: 8.2/10
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