This movie tells the story of a kid named Charlie who just started high school. He's quiet, shy, unsure of himself, and doesn't have any friends at the beginning. This changes when he strikes up a conversation with his shop classmate Patrick and his stepsister Sam. While you may think this is your typical high school coming-of-age story, it's a lot deeper and has a lot more substance and heart. If you're interested, you can check out the plot in the movie's wikipedia page.
This film resonates with me on so many levels. It has a lot of great themes, both overt and underlying. It talks about acceptance - of new people into your life with no questions asked, of people for who they are, and of yourself - and how difficult true acceptance is for a lot of people. It talks about forgiveness and how friends and family can weather even the most turbulent of storms. It talks about standing up for the people you love. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I also love the fact that Charlie's family is incredibly loving and supportive, a bit of a change compared to lot of other films about teenage angst and fitting in.
From a technical standpoint, it is also superb. The plot gradually builds towards a powerful climax and I love how a lot of hints are dropped all throughout the film to help lead the audience to the film's dramatic conclusion. The editing is done impressively well, making good use of flashbacks to help give us a glimpse into Charlie's mind. The script is brilliant, the soundtrack is cool, and the musical score is moving. Check out "Shard" that is played in one of the last scenes of the film. It's just so haunting:
video uploaded in youtube by Infinite
As well-made as this movie was and with all its compelling themes, it would not have been as great if not for the sensational performances of the cast. Emma Watson, who gained global popularity by playing Hermione in the Harry Potter films, takes on an American accent as she shows how it is possible to be both confident and edgy while also being insecure and lacking self-esteem. Ezra Miller has that perfect mix of smart, unaffected, and vulnerable that just makes audiences love him.
However, the performance that wowed me the most was Logan Lerman's portrayal of lead character Charlie. I only previously knew him from the Percy Jackson films so I wasn't expecting him to be this impressively good. It is such a difficult role that requires a lot of nuance, subtlety, and understatement as there is a huge swell of emotion and anguish hidden just below the surface and Logan delivers all of this astoundingly well. I personally think that this is one of the best and most moving acting performances I've seen, especially considering that he was only about 20 or 21 when this film was shot.
I have now watched the full movie twice and I've replayed the last sequence of scenes multiple times over the last few days. Needless to say, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is now definitely one of my favorite films of all time
No comments:
Post a Comment