The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Director: Stephen Chbosky
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Details: US/ 103 / 15A
Directed by Stephen Chbosky, who has adapted the screenplay from his own novel, which is set and shot in his Pittsburgh stomping ground, there's no escaping that a personal and intimate tale unfolds in Perks Of Being A Wallflower. This closeness to the material can work in its favour – it's alive with details of its 1991 setting - but Chbosky gets a little lost when trying to do too much.
Charlie (Lerman) is a high school freshman who doesn’t have any friends after his best friend committed suicide. On serious meds for the trauma and suffering blackouts and visions of a loving aunt (Melanie Lynskey) who died in a car accident when he was seven, Charlie's chances of making friends are slim – especially when he becomes close with his English teacher (Rudd). But Charlie falls in with a clique of oddball seniors, including Sam (Watson) and her step-brother Patrick (Miller), who like to perform the Rocky Horror Picture Show on a regular basis. Happy times ensue and help keep Charlie's darker moments at bay but the visions and dark thoughts begin to return…
Lerman, last seen being the dashing confident wildcat D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, turns it down to a mellow squeak for Charlie. He's so straight he accepts a brownie from a stoner on face value. Lerman embodies this naivety and shyness, this Morrissey-like lack of confidence without running home to cry about it in his room (although he does write personal letters to an unknown friend... in his room). He's backed up by a fine Watson (doing a decent high school American) and a manic Miller (another eye-catching turn from the We Need To Talk About Kevin star).
The 90s setting is cool. Not only is it a nostalgia trip for retromaniacs like this reviewer, it also heightens the isolation of school misfits; without the internet to plug yourself into fellow oddities all over the world, Charlie's sense of loneliness and his deep and fast connection to Sam and Patrick is completely believable. But the parade of the era-defining music does throw up one glaring problem. Charlie has himself 'a movie moment' with Sam: he watches her wave her arms in slow motion on the back of Patrick's truck as it glides through a tunnel while a tune plays on the radio. Charlie hangs on the memory but can't locate the tune. What is it? What was that damn tune? None of the hipster music people know either. The tune, laughably, is David Bowie's Heroes. These kids know all about The Smiths and Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements and don't know this? Hmm. That aside, the soundtrack will appeal to the musos out there.
Perks tends to wander about when it should be wrapping it up, however. In his quest to include everything, the point of the movie tends to get misplaced. While Patrick's quarterback subplot might be unneeded, it is touching. It's the inclusion of his sister, however, and the abuse she suffers at the hands of her weedy pony-tailed boyfriend that's questionable. As is a twist ending that changes the film's entire tone. Lerman's voiceover can be a bit heavy-handed too.
Perks, though, is a top teen movie.
Review by Gavin Burke | 14:52 | Wednesday 3rd October 2012 | Movie Review
PreviousWhat Richard DidComments
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DoubleLetter
Not at all interested in seeing this.
Posted 17:46 | Thu 4th Oct 2012 -
FilmBuff76
Maybe you should give it a go. I found it be a pleasantly surprising film with a lot of heart. I'm not a teenager, but I certainly identified with it as I was a teenager in the 1990s, just like the characters in the film.
Posted 22:13 | Thu 4th Oct 2012 -
Tom
I loved this, a real surprise, beautifully made and wonderfully quiet in all the right places. Logan Lerman was fantastic in the leading role, an American teenager you won't want to punch in the face. The 'twist' you mention only added to the film and was beautifully done. I agree that none of these kids knowing Bowie's Heroes is ridiculous but that's the only false note in a great little film.
Posted 13:04 | Fri 5th Oct 2012 -
jack brown
DO NOT see this movie . This is a nonsensical teenage drama with heavy hollywood gay agenda . It will not appeal to anyone over age 22
Posted 20:44 | Tue 9th Oct 2012 -
DoubleLetter
Yeah, actually FilmBuff76 I am going to actually go and see it. I've heard great things. Judged it by its cover...
Posted 13:52 | Mon 8th Oct 2012 -
emerXD
seeing it on saturday looks real good
Posted 18:45 | Fri 5th Oct 2012 -
maighread2008
I'm well over 22 and really enjoyed it. What a sweeping generalisation.
Posted 16:55 | Thu 11th Oct 2012 -
maighread2008
@JackBrown. I think there is one scene with a gay kiss in it. It's hardly Brokeback Mountain and why isn't it appropriate for 14/15 year old characters to be placed in a "gay scene"? Do you not think teenagers that age be they gay or straight are out doing those kind of things as we speak.The same character is seen kissing a 17 year old girl but that's ok I suppose?
Posted 10:58 | Mon 15th Oct 2012 -
Dave
well what can I say... totally surprised at how good the movie was, the acting was superb and the story extremely touching, I disagree that its a late teens movie, anyone who was growing up in the late 80's early 90"s will get quite nostalgic, I agree that it lost its way now and then ( which was quite frustrating) but overall for the serious cinema goer this is one of the highlights of what has been quite a below par year for movies... 8/10 PS @jackbrown if that simple kiss is what you would consider a " gay scene" do not watch brokeback mountain. or are you 94
Posted 14:18 | Tue 16th Oct 2012 -
jack brown
@maighread . I just feel if a movie contains gay scenes with repeated scenes of teenage boys smooching then the moviegoers should be made aware beforehand and decide whether they wish to see it or not and I wish the reviewer here in it's long review had mention it .The whole story and dialogue was unrealistic. As I said , hollywood has it's own agenda
Posted 23:32 | Fri 12th Oct 2012 -
jack brown
@Doubleletter . I think as consumers we should have a right to know what product we are paying for and make a decision wether we want it . The main protagonist in this movie is a high school freshman age 14-15,and putting him in gay scenes is not apropiate and I also do not like torture scenes in movies and if a movie contains certain scenes I think I should know beforehand . The poster of this movie is misleading to say the least . if you want to see a good entertaining movie go see RUBY SPARKS which i saw today and it was fun and enjoyed it
Posted 22:53 | Sat 13th Oct 2012 -
FilmBuff76
Oh well, you have to take a chance on a film sometimes. Whatever you do, don't take a chance on Holy Motors... It'll make you bang your head against the cinema wall in frustration. It has no story at all.
Posted 12:28 | Sat 13th Oct 2012 -
DoubleLetter
Ok I seen it. I really disliked it and left early. I thought it was stupid, really. The dialogue was awful "How do you feel?"... "I feel infinite"... ?? ... Just not my kind of thing at all. Oh, and @jack brown - why would a moviegoer have to be made aware that there are gay scenes within a film? Why should that merit a 'warning'?
Posted 00:53 | Sat 13th Oct 2012 -
DoubleLetter
@Jack Brown - Yes, a graphic torture scene within a movie requires a warning (usually evident by the age rating and genre etc) as it can be deemed offensive. Finding a gay character kiss offensive is homophobic, therefore cannot carry any legal warning. Don't watch The Help by the way, that deals with black rights - your probably offended by that too.
Posted 11:20 | Tue 23rd Oct 2012 -
mikecoughlan
This is a wonderfully beautiful film. We join the story as the main character Charlie is going to high school for the first time. He is quiet so things are not going to be easy, but as he slowly makes friends, our empathy for him begins to grow as we get to know more about him and his new found friends. Both Charlie and his friends have interesting stories to tell and the whole film plays out really well. You sense from early on that there is something more to Charlie's story and when the truth is finally revealed, it is very moving to say the least. I for one had tears in my eyes by the end. It is the most moving film I have seen in a very long time.
Posted 08:13 | Fri 26th Oct 2012
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