Quirks, Jerks, Smirks (yet) Perks Works

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2012)

Frankly I didn't expect too much from this entry; I've never heard of the book let alone read it, I'm not really a Harry Potter buff so I had no interest in whether or not Emma Watson would not out to have discovered Life Beyond Harry Potter. At most I was hoping for a painlessly pleasant couple of hours in the dark. Having seen it I have no problem endorsing the positive reviews I have just been reading here on IMDb. Whilst I don't know how realistic it would be to have a freshman hanging out with Seniors for one whole Academic year the thought merely registered rather than nagged throughout the running time. There was one subtle touch I appreciated: Charley establishes an immediate rapport with his English teacher who is happy to suggest - and even supply - 'extra' reading for Charley, who laps it up. At one point the teacher makes Charley a present of his own 'personal' copy of 'The Catcher In The Rye'. This novel is narrated by a troubled teenager who reveals in the last chapter that he is writing from a hospital where he is being treated for a nervous breakdown; 'Wallflower' is also narrated by Charley who begins by telling us he has spent some time in hospital and we soon realize this his ailment wasn't physical. Nice touch. This is very much an ensemble piece, to say nothing of a labor of love, and it would be churlish to single out any one performance. My only reservation is that, like so many 'indie' movies that are so charming on a first viewing - Sideways, The Station Agent, Juno, etc - it may not hold up in a few years time. But for now it is slightly terrific.