*Contains spoilers*
I stumbled upon this film while browsing Netflix one evening. I’d heard about it before, but never had been quite sure about whether or not to actually watch it. Everything that I’d heard about the film was good, so I thought ‘why not?’, and clicked on the play button.
The opening really hooked me in. Charlie’s alone in his bedroom, writing a letter. Logan Lerman, who plays Charlie, is voicing over. We can tell that Charlie’s not the most confident of kids, as he seems apprehensive, and even shy in the letter. He asks the recipient of the letter not to regard him as ‘the kid who spent time in hospital’, so we can tell that Charlie’s had some sort of problem, probably mental-health-related, as if it were a physical problem he probably wouldn’t be judged. I thought that it was a well-thought-out beginning, and unlike anything I’d seen before in other films.
One of my favourite parts of the film was when Sam was introduced. She’s a best friend of Patrick, a boy who Charlie met at one of the school’s American football games. Sam’s played by Emma Watson, who’s British, so it was interesting hearing her speak with an American accent. Emma’s character is developed well throughout the film, and Sam gradually became my favourite character.
My least favourite part of the film was when Charlie’s anxiety and depression came in. The reason that it was my least favourite part wasn’t because it wasn’t made well or anything, but it was because it’s so well done that the person watching really feels for Charlie, sympathises with the poor kid who’s lost both his favourite aunt and his best friend. His aunt he lost when he was quite young, but they’d become quite close over the span of Charlie’s life, so it came as a huge shock when he lost her. His best friend, we didn’t know much about, except for that he was called Michael, and committed suicide fairly close to when the film is set. Charlie ends up being put into hospital for the second time, after the anxiety and depression get really bad, and you can’t help but to feel sorry for him.
One of the many great things about this film is that it’s full of real-life problems – not like High School Musical or anything, in which the biggest problem seems to be that their clothes don’t match.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an amazing film that I’d probably recommend to anyone above the age of 11, as it isn’t necessarily Disney-level appropriate, but it’s still suitable for almost-teenagers.
Information from http://www.shmoop.com/perks-of-being-a-wallflower/summary.html, www.youtube.com
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Video from http://youtube.com