Ahhhh the days of High School!!!

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2015)

The Perks of being a Wallflower is such a sweet coming of age film, focusing on a rather lonely boy's struggles through school, relationships and adolescence.
I remember watching this film with a keen interest on the title and I often wondered what the perks are of being a wallflower were...Sadly, the film didn't really answer this question for me.
Throughout the story, one develops sympathy and a sense of sadness for Charlie, the main character. To begin with, he has no one to talk to, to pour his heart out to. This is a problem which Charlie addresses by keeping a sort of diary where he writes down his thoughts, feelings and experiences in letters which he sends to an unknown person. This person doesn't know Charlie but Charlie has seen him around and feels that he would be understanding. This also made me wonder what said person thought when he received these letters and if he even read all of them.
Charlie has gone through a lot: his aunt, whom he was very fond of, died, his older brother is away at university, his sister hardly spends any time with him and he has no friends.
However, the fact that he has no friends allows him the opportunity of meeting and befriending a rather unusual group of teenagers at his school - all of them are in a way, misfits. Through this friendship he gains more confidence which is delightful to see, as well as his first kiss and other sorts of mishaps.
The Perks of being a Wallflower is truly worth watching as it allows one to identify with high school experiences as well as reflect on how friendship and family are valuable to our growth and development. It may be emotional in some places but still great.