Coming of Age Drama

Rating: 5/10 (5 January 2013)

This movie is about a character named Charlie, who seems to be based on the author of the novel it's based on. It details his freshman year in high school and how his personal issues add to the difficulty of fitting in. He makes friends with some older kids and starts to feel like he belongs. For about 45 minutes, the movie seemed to build very well. Emma Watson's character, Sam, is established as the love interest that is not yet attainable. Emma's performance, along with the script, portray her as the kind of girlfriend who could also be your best friend. The focus seems to be on her importance to the main character. During this time, it feels like the film is giving Watson the chance to show that she can carry a film as its main star. Towards the end, however, we see more of Charlie dealing with his depression and sexual abuse, and the interesting group of friends all go off to college. Then the movie ends. I wasn't sure what to take away from this; just when we were going to find out what kind of relationship Charlie and Sam would now have, they are separated, and then the story finishes. Ezra Miller is probably the one who will benefit the most from being in this movie, because he is very memorable. I will definitely look forward to whatever Emma does next, because I enjoyed her in this movie, but it felt like her arc got cut short. Five out of ten.