Touching but soapy

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2012)

16 year old Charlie (Logan Lerman) is not looking forward to high school. He has no friends, and little idea of how to make them. But when he is friendly towards eccentric and camp loner senior Patrick (Ezra Miller), he gets introduced to Patrick's stepsister Sa (Emma Watson), and their circle of non-cool students - "The Island of Misfit Toys" as Sam puts it. An interesting year develops, as Charlie opens up and forges relationships, while all the main characters turn out to have areas of darkness behind locked doors.
This film, essentially a coming of age story, crossed with teen romance, and mixed in with a big chunk of soap opera, is very effective. It gives us three very sympathetic protagonists, a supporting cast of characters who are all fairly sympathetic, a simple story with enough mystery to keep us interested, and a damaged but beautiful heart, and three wonderful central performances. Watson and Miller are both excellent, but Lerman's central performance, necessarily understated through most of the movie, is ultimately heartbreaking and heartmending.
I really enjoyed this.