An Earnest And Emotional Coming Of Age Tale

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2012)

The movie is written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, the very same person who wrote the amazing book of which the film is an adaptation of. It's a unique situation, given that it's entirely his vision and artistic integrity no matter how many changes there are between the two mediums. Not that there's anything to complain about between the two; the movie surprised me in just how heartfelt and genuine it came across and while it (of course) wasn't as powerful as the book, it still ended up being the most earnest and emotional coming of age film I have ever seen.
The beauty of it all is in just how well it captures the human state of becoming 'someone', no matter what we think we should be or what we're afraid of. In this case, it's more about what we're afraid of people learning about ourselves. In this case, our characters come from very dark, abused and broken places and somehow it manages to inspire and give hope to the audience.
While this is not a movie for the faint of heart, nor is it for the general 'popcorn crowd', it is absolutely a quintessential film experience that should be shared by those who want to grow, learn, and most importantly, understand others.
The film does a phenomenal job of capturing the positive and life defining influences of friends, literature, music and love. The cast could not have been better, although, I do feel like Emma Watson dropped the ball on having the inner turmoil that her character required. Something that may have been done better by someone with more acting experience but nevertheless I have no real complaints at all. The small roles by Paul Rudd, Tom Savini, Nicholas Braun, and Joan Cusack brought a tremendous amount of weight to the film; all were exquisite.
Don't be afraid of anything!
Do yourself a favor and get your hands on this quick read. Then see the film. You'll thank me later.