An evocative teen movie with more than immediately meets the eye

Rating: 7/10 (10 February 2013)

I sat down to watch this movie, having not read the book, not expecting a great deal from it, thinking it would not be much more than the great number of pseudo-indie teen drama movies designed more to exploit the hormone fuelled emotions of its target audience than actually provoke any real thought. Toward the beginning of the film I feared I had been right in this evaluation, with references to typical emotional teen clichés such as the Smiths on vinyl, mix-tapes and the generalisation that all of high school was going to be hell for anyone who didn't immediately conform. My initial reaction was that this was a post John Hughes film that did not benefit the slightest from being made 20 years later, however I'm pleased to say that this reaction did not last long. The film developed into incredibly nuanced and mature themes, with characters who for the main part seemed real and were always engaging and ultimately led me to no longer think of it as glorified rip off as a films such as The Breakfast Club, but instead a worthy 21st century successor.
The story was carried by a very strong performance by Logan Lerman, who acted with real subtlety rather than twilightesque dead pan expression; he reminded me of a younger, more awkward version of Joseph Gordan-Levitt in 500 days of Summer. His character's letters to an imaginary friend, while initially seemed worryingly vaguely emotional, became not only a useful way of progressing the narrative through time, but also were revealing of Lerman's character and were foreboding as to the secrets that he kept. Lerman played the character with a quiet yet intriguing air that allowed you to believe that seniors would not only find him interesting enough to befriend, but also to fall for.
The other two main performances came from Erza Miller and Emma Watson, who were the step-sibling duo that rescued the freshman Lerman from his world of loneliness and depression. These two performances were respectively the highlight and one of the low points of the movie, with Miller providing a glorious performance as a flamboyant rocky horror show enthusiast and Watson providing a strained performance as a much less interesting character of the emotionally deep beautiful and alter- chick. What really made the film for me was the complexity of the majority of the characters; you believed Miller's flamboyance was just a shield for darker issues and experienced this darker side towards the end of the film, however Watson's character was free from such nuances. Despite also finding out darker secrets from her past, it was difficult to sympathise with a evidently gorgeous girl who had all the confidence of her brother, without any of the social stigma, living in a stable family and on her way to a good college. With all of this combined, I found it the most wrenching moment of the entire film when Watson tells Lerman on the eve of her departure to college she 'can't feel happy'. While Watson obviously embodies enough to charm to make any man-boy immediately fall for her, her laboured facial expressions in dramatic interactions made her character even more painfully 2 dimensional.
The narrative itself was very good, with twists and developments which meant that what could have been a very predictable story line kept you constantly engaged. My only criticism would be that the most dramatic event of the story - Lerman's breakdown - while exceptionally built up to, takes places and is swiftly dealt with in little more than 5 minutes, before the film is drawn swiftly to its conclusion. The script is actually very strong, with a few cheesy lines, mainly given to Watson, but these are more than over shadowed by the generally brilliant standard of the dialogue, along with the resonance of Lerman's monologues which are present throughout. The themes, as mentioned before, are very mature and are, for me, what make the film. The ideas of depression, sexuality, drugs and ultimately the shocking and unforeseen theme of child abuse keep the film captivating and allow license for scenes of emotion which make the film as evocative as it is.
My final bone that I have to pick I will admit may appear an anal one, but I find it so frustrating I cannot restrain myself. Early on in the three's friendship they are on a drive and stumble perchance upon a song which perfectly epitomises the moment of freedom and youthful ecstasy they are experiencing, a song that later becomes a metaphor when they cannot find it again until the end, when they have each come to their respective realisations. They take another drive, play the song again and it acts as a crescendo up to the tagline of the film (which teenage girls will now inevitably be posting in painfully serious facebook statuses) of 'we are infinite'. But what is this evasive song that try as they might they cannot grasp until they have each found themselves? It is none other than Heroes by David Bowie. This only irritates me so much because its apparent elusiveness is put on a pedestal as a metaphor for the film; so if it is so important, why would you choose such a famous song that would be well known in the early 90s? I was born in 1994 and am well aware of the song, and if I weren't would still instantly recognise Bowie's voice. I realise this is not hugely relevant, but the impracticality of it ruined this motif which was so significant in the ending.
All in all however, this was a thoroughly enjoyable film with some great characters, truly passionate scenes and a storyline rich and complex enough to genuinely make you think. I would challenge anyone to watch this strikingly powerful film and not be swayed by in the slightest, it is the best in its kind since the golden age of the 80s.