The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based Stephen Chbosky's 1999 cult favorite debut novel of the same name, has been released and misunderstood teens everywhere should probably be clamoring for a ticket right about...now. Directed by Stephen Chbosky (yes, the man who wrote the book, and the screenplay), the film stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller as the three leads, with an excellent supporting cast comprised of Paul Rudd, Dylan McDermott, Kate Walsh, Joan Cusack, Mae Whitman, Johnny Simmons, Nina Dobrev, and Melanie Lynsky.

Charlie, portrayed by Logan Lerman, is very much the wallflower the title implies him to be: he is quiet, shy, smart, and very perceptive. He is also still reeling from the suicide of his best friend a few months prior, and the death of his beloved Aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey) a few years prior. In his first year of high school, Charlie's withdrawn nature is challenged by his befriending a group of off-beat seniors, particularly the extroverted, flamboyant, and gay Patrick and his quirky step-sister Sam, who has an impeccable taste in music. Others in their eclectic group include Mary-Elizabeth (a Buddhist punk), Bob (perpetually stoned and proud of it), and Craig, Sam's college student boyfriend who says things like "poetry writes me" with a straight face; he also connects with his English teacher (Paul Rudd), who encourages Charlie to read and write. As the school year goes on, Charlie experiences a lot of firsts: a first kiss, first girlfriend, first bad trip (and not of the travelling variety), and, of course, a first midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Experiences throughout year, such as seeing his sister, Candace (Nina Dobrev), get hit by her boyfriend and watching Patrick's painful behind closed doors relationship with star quarterback Brad (Johnny Simmons) unravel, cause Charlie to lose his innocence, though it is questionable if he ever had it to begin with.

Whoever handled the casting for this film deserves a raise, every actor inhabits their role superbly, no matter how big or small the part. Lerman is nuanced, charming, and heartbreaking as a Charlie tired of feeling numb, yet desperate to suppress the darker urges we all have. For example, in a scene in the middle of the film, where Charlie jumps to stop a brutal beating of Patrick by homophobic football players, Logan looks a touch unhinged as Charlie swiftly and brutally steps up in defense of friend where he leaves three large football players on the ground gasping and utters a blunt threat I don't doubt that he would be willing to carry out. Emma Watson, in her first major post-Harry Potter role, is able to take a what could have very easily been a cliche (the manic pixie dream girl) and injects it with enough subtlety and a slight sense of desperation to make Sam both a character worth rooting for, and a girl not hard to imagine falling for as a teenager (I mean, she listens to David Bowie and The Smiths, what's not to like). But, the true breakout star of the film is Ezra Miller as the outgoing Patrick. Miller, who was last seen terrifying audiences as a mass-murdering teenager in the excellent and under-seen We Need To Talk About Kevin, chews the scenery as the gay-and-unashamed Patrick, who can't take life seriously, because otherwise it would become too painful.

That couch is the island of misfit toys.

The rest of the cast performs well in somewhat limited roles: Paul Rudd is earnest as the supportive English teacher ideal for a young man like Charlie, though his role is limited. Dylan McDermott isn't given much to do as Charlie's father, but when he's onscreen he expertly plays a man who never knows what to say, but is desperate for his son to be happy and well. Other actors like Mae Whitman, Nina Dobrev, and Johnny Simmons are quite solid in their roles, though generally overshadowed by the other cast members.

The film, as directed and written by Chbosky, makes one extremely smart decision that elevates what could of been a very by-the-numbers, if well-acted, coming-of-age flick, into something better: Chbosky never implies that the issues and pains plaguing Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are more substantial than those facing the other characters. Charlie's sister is in an abusive relationship, Brad is closeted living in a homophobic household, and even Paul Rudd's Mr. Anderson is implied to be struggling to decide whether or not to stay as a teacher, or return to New York to chase his dreams as a playwright. Chbosky's style is remarkably assured for a director lacking much experience, though his "familiarity" with the source material definitely contributed to this. 

One thing I liked about the directorial style employed is that, like in the novel, everything is through Charlie's perspective. We see him listening to his parents' conversation in the kitchen, and then, as he leaves, we can still here the conversation going and it just trails off in the background; or we can only faintly here what Sam whispers into Patrick's ear as Charlie looks on from across the room. The film maintains the same narrative device of the novel, where Charlie is narrating his story by means of letters to an anonymous person he had heard of that "might understand." Narration, so often used as a crutch in film, is employed well here, as knowing Charlie's thoughts about what is happening around him is key to the effectiveness of the story on hand, yet those same thoughts are nearly impossible to supply without narration in the case of such an extremely withholding and introverted protagonist like Charlie.

In the end, even though I might be looking at through the eyes of a big fan of the novel (I'd be lying if I said I'd only read it once), The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a moving film about friendship and the importance of connection, and a very good, if somewhat condensed, adaptation of a truly excellent novel.

9/10