The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is based on a novel written by Stephen Chbosky. Unlike the Hunger Games, I read this book before I saw the movie. Apart from a few minor scenes, the film essentially follows the novel. The movie is about a freshman in high school, Charlie (Logan Lerman), who is guided through the halls by two seniors: Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller). Charlie is an nervous, awkward, eccentric teenager with poor social skills. With Sam and Patrick's help, Charlie is embraced by a new group of friends for the first time and is introduced to typical senior partying. As the year goes by, he quickly falls in love with Sam and grows closer to Patrick. Although his social life expands, Charlie is still haunted by an incident of the past. When he was seven years old his Aunt Eileen died in a car accident. When times get difficult with his friends, his mind is clouded by vivid flashbacks of his Aunt. Eventually  Charlie's flashbacks turn into nervous breakdowns. He now has to control his mental state while dealing with the drama of his friends. This all happens as the secrets of his family unfold.

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

After watching numerous Harry Potter movies, I have grown particularly fond of Emma Watson. This is the first movie I saw where Emma was not playing the part of Hermione Granger. It was different but I really liked watching her in a new environment. She was just as cute and interesting as always. I'm still trying to decide if I liked Logan Lerman's performance. Although he isn't a bad actor, I expected a different performance from Charlie's character after I read the book. This is the problem with reading the book before the movie. I casted the entire film before I even saw a preview. I was bound to be disappointed with at least one of the choices Hollywood made. Nevertheless, I still thought the film was well thought out and extremely nostalgic. The typical high school scene makes viewers miss the past and embrace the naive ways of a young freshman. In addition, one of my favorite aspects of the film was the soundtrack. Each song matched my vision perfectly. I was really happy with the way the music and images tied together to send messages and portray feelings. Overall, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is defiantly a feel-good film with a spontaneous twist.