A very good film, only held down by very small faults.

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2012)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows Charlie, a friendless freshman with a dark mind and an even darker past. He sits alone and has no one to talk to. Until a group of seniors invite him and let him join their group of outcasts.
The character of Charlie is portrayed by Logan Lerman, who does an extremely great performance as a shy, awkward teenager. Emma Watson and Ezra Miller also give a great performance. The film has quirky comedy elements and captures the essence and thoughts of being an adolescent growing up in a world inhabited by idiots. The music preferences, the friendless and shyness that comes along with being an adolescent is incorporated into the film. Also, the film includes some very serious themes that teenagers deal with. It is a very well portrayed and directed film, with a special nod to the writer and director who also wrote the book Steven Chbosky. I found that the character's all had something which we could relate to, it was accessible to all ages and had a very good ending which makes it situated at the top of the hill in terms of coming-of-age films.
However, with all that great, comes a few faults. A few of the jokes didn't land and a few scenes had a predictable outcome, which made the film feel predictable. I think it could've explored some it's themes a bit more. It felt like it stopped half-way onto something great and the reasoning behind that I'd imagine is that Steve wanted the film to be 15 or PG-13 at most. The performances lacked by the supporting cast, especially in comparison to the mains. A few scenes felt unnecessary and a few scenes also didn't make the transition from the book to film very well. But aside from that, it was a very good film, easily accessible and one of the best coming-of-age film I've ever seen.