A beautiful film about growing and loving while struggling to be a teenager

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2013)

Charlie is an introvert teen trying to manoeuvre his way through his freshman year of high school. But it's difficult when you have no friends, you're dealing with recent tragedy in your life, and you've withdrawn into yourself. He's a prime target for bullying.
But then he meets Patrick and Sam, two quirky older teens who are inseparable. And full of life. Oh so full of life. They take Charlie under their wing and show him what it means to be accepted, to be understood, to be loved. "Welcome to the island of misfit toys," Sam whispers to Charlie. For the first time in a long time, Charlie feels like he belongs and that he is surrounded by people who understand. And he starts to blossom and emerge from his cocoon.
But Charlie is still dealing with his own demons and recurring bouts of mental illness. His friends are the only things keeping him together. And when an incident temporarily tears them apart, he finds himself falling back into his emotional abyss.
But Charlie isn't the only one who has pain. Both Patrick and Sam have experienced their own troubles and each deals with them in a different way. Sam is thoughtful and tender but her low self-esteem leads her to accept less than she deserves from her suitors. Patrick sheaths his own internal turmoil with showy bravado in the form of an extrovert.
This was the most beautiful teen movie I've ever watched and tears emerged several times while watching it. I could feel the pain of the characters as I learned each of their secrets and realized that they were all just trying to make it through those torturous teen years without going crazy. The level of depth of each of these characters has hardly been matched in any other film I've seen.
I fell in love with Charlie, Sam and Patrick and was truly heartbroken to say goodbye to them as the credits began to roll. But I knew they had each other and that they had formed a lifelong bond that would see them through what would undoubtedly be more tough times ahead.
The three main actors in the movie are mind-blowingly good. Emma Watson does a great job breaking out of the Hermoine Granger pigeon hole as Sam. Logan Lerman is wonderful as Charlie: awkward, shy, uncertain, and sensitive. He wants to fit in but he doesn't quite know how. He needs to find friends that fit him. But Ezra Miller! Wow! This is the second ground-breaking performance I've seen him in. Following up a positively mesmerizing performance in "We Need to Talk About Kevin", Miller oozes flamboyance, charm and wit as Patrick. Others who round out an outstanding supporting cast include Paul Rudd, Joan Cusack and Dylan McDermott.
I rate this movie 9/10. It's a beautiful and touching glimpse into the lives of three incredible teenagers. I will hold fond memories of them all for a long time.