The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

(What's this, two posts in two consecutive days? Madness!)

It's happened, I've finally been able to watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower in all its cinematic glory. I've been wanting to see it since it came out in UK theatres in October, and even more so since I finished the novel only last month. When I sat down and started watching it, excited wasn't the word.

I know I've already written a review of the book on this blog already, but here's some quick background information on the film. It's directed by the original novelist Stephan Chbosky, stars Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Lightening Thief), Emma Watson (Harry Potter series, duh!) and Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin), and is a coming-of-age film about a timid freshman who is taken under the wing of two seniors who welcome him to their "island of misfit toys."

The thing about film adaptations of books is that no matter how good it is, you're constantly making even the smallest comparisons to the book. The movie itself was actually quite true to the book, which is the benefit of having the director also being the authour - everything is how is how it was intended to be. A large chunk of the dialogue was taken straight from the book and any new addition didn't feel strange or forced, which is particularly important, especially in Lerman's narration to his mysterious 'friend'. The only real criticism I have with the film is that it is a bit too choppy at parts, meaning that it missed some scenes from the book that I would have loved to have seen in this movie. Perks is a very character-driven novel, with a lot of key bonding moments between characters, and some of the missing bits from the films I felt would have made the audience understand them better.It would have tied up the film nicely, but I guess you can't exactly fit every single detail of a book in just under two hours, so I can look past it (just).

Being set in the 90's, the film has a great, old-school nostalgic feel about it. They hung out at diners, made mixtapes on cassettes and listened to them on their walkmans, and wrote essays and letters pen to paper (or in some cases, a typewriter). Don't get me wrong, I like living in today's digital age, but it's refreshing to be taken back to basics, and seeing a high school movie where groups of friends actually spent time together in person rather than over instant messaging or Facebook. There's nothing like the company of others, and simply just watching people interact and grow and change and make memories, especially when it's paired with a killer soundtrack. It's also nice to watch an American high school movie where the plot doesn't involve popular kid and unpopular kid falling in love and facing the social adversity from their peers. In fact, it's refreshing to see a film where the popular kids aren't being worshiped full stop. It's a film about outsiders and I think everyone can identify with at least one person in this film that way.

I also need a moment to gush over the brilliant cast in this ensemble. First of all, I think Logan Lerman is a perfect depiction for Charlie, not overly exaggerated and brilliantly subtle, he fully embodies his character just as how I imagined him when reading the book. Emma Watson was also great, but what it being her first role outside of the Harry Potter franchise, it's going to be hard (for me at least) to see her out of her 'Hermione' shell. She's a wonderful actress, of course, and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Sam, but I'm looking forward to her really wowing us in the future like I know she can. I almost squealed in my seat when Paul Rudd appeared on screen as Charlie's English teacher, Bill, but I really wish Chbosky would have given him more attention in the film. Bill (or Mr Anderson, as he is better known in the picture) is such an integral part of Charlie's life in the book, and it was such a shame to see Rudd's character so underdeveloped to make room for everything else. But was we did see of him was great, because Paul Rudd is brilliant. Ezra Miller is also inspiring, playing the non-conventional Gay Best Friend and all round funny guy. I wish I could say more about him other than he's great, but I haven't seen We Need to Talk About Kevin, so I have no frame of reference on his past works. Honourable mentions to Nina Dobrev, Miss Vampire Diaries herself playing the role of Charlie's sister, parents Kate Walsh and Dylan McDermott (who could have also used a bit more character development, especially the father), and Joan Cusak's brief but well-acted role as the psychiatrist.

Films-from-books always pose the same age-old question for me: should we always read the book first? Does it really matter? I always try to read the book before watching a film adaption where possible, but sometimes I wonder if I watch the film first, I'll still experience those really great feelings when watching something for the first time, and still get to enjoy the book later. But then when it comes to reading the book, you already know what's going to happen, and the only new discoveries you experience are the ones they didn't include in the motion picture. But it goes the same for reading the book first, you still get all those really great feelings, and when it comes to watching the film, you get really nit-picky over the smallest things (like I'm being right now). I guess there's really no right answer when it comes to these things.

Nonetheless, it's a fantastic film, with great great music and a top cast. Despite the faults I see, it's not going to stop me from watching it again and again for a long time.