A very touching and mature coming of age story

Rating: 9/10 (28 October 2012)

My interest was raised after watching the trailer for this film, and after seeing it yesterday I'm happy to say that it is amazing. Now I've never read the book, so I can't say if the movie did the book justice but from a filmmaking standpoint I thought this was done so well.
The story, the acting, the writing and the humor was close to perfect as you can get. The story is simple enough (Spoiler free): High school freshman named Charlie (Logan Lerman) begins his high school days unsure of how he's going to fit in. Charlie didn't have the best childhood, and he's definitely the type of kid that wouldn't be respected by his peers. That all changes when he befriends Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) who are high school seniors who introduce him to the real world.
Acting: This is the 2nd film I've seen Logan Lerman in since the 3:10 to Yuma remake where he played Christian Bale's oldest son. He was good in that one, but my God was he great in this film. He perfectly embodies the young troubled boy who must confront his demons, and inevitably grow into adulthood. He reminded me of myself in some ways he was awkward and shy among other people. I was definitely not the popular kid in school, and now that I look back on it I'm glad I wasn't because I would probably be a jackass. He was also very sympathetic and relatable that it reminded me of Tobey Maguire's portrayal of Peter Parker in the original Spider-Man trilogy. I know this sounds like an odd comparison to you, but to me the way Peter Parker was written like Charlie was made sympathetic and relatable that it made you care about the character, what's happening to him and how he's growing into manhood despite all the trials and tribulations he's been through. Anyway, great performance by Logan, and I'm interested in seeing what he does next. Emma Watson... oh my word, she is breathtaking. I've always liked her since Harry Potter, and it was nice to see her doing something different this time. There were a few times when her British accent slipped out, but it wasn't distracting and I thought she gave a great performance as Sam. Ezra Miller was also excellent as Patrick. Very funny and likable, and I wish I had more friends like him. Paul Rudd as Mr. Anderson played his part very well. It was a small part, but I thought he did a good job with it. The rest of the cast, including Nina Dobrev, Mae Whitman, Dylan McDermott, Kate Walsh and Joan Cusack were great also.
The writing was so beautifully written, and felt very natural throughout the film. The music was done very well, and themes presented here reminded me of a John Hughes movie but with a darker spin. Stephen Chbosky did such great work translating his book into a film adaption, which is not an easy thing to do with movies based on books. Again, I've never read the book but I think it was done very well.
I've seen my share of films where the actors look like they're phoning in most of the lines, and it seems like they just don't care about whether or not they're making a good movie or not. However, this is one of the many films I've seen where the interactions between the characters feels real and natural that you really buy that these guys are actually really good friends.
Final verdict: I give this film an A. The acting was fantastic, the music, the story and the direction were brilliant. This is one of those films that remind us all of the innocence of our youth and that feeling we have of learning new things in life, wondering what lies ahead for us in the future. I cannot compliment this film more, so go see it even if you haven't read the book.