Beautiful portrayal of vulnerability and friendship

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2013)

This film was adapted from the cult-smash-novel of the same name and as a reviewer who read and loved the book before the seeing the film I can promise you, this lives up to any expectations and wishes you could have had. This is perhaps, of course, because the writer of the novel is also the writer and director of the film – he saw this beautiful project through to the end and he didn't let anything ruin its vision. As you can tell, I love both the book and the film with an intense and bordering-on over-the-top passion, so I'm sorry, but be warned, I will review this film with absolute bias. In my opinion it deserves no less
Let's start with its premise. We begin our story with 16-year old introvert Charlie played by the hugely talented upcoming-star Logan Lerman, who writes a letter to a stranger describing his fears and lamenting the torture of high school. He writes this letter in the hope that someone can exist that cares without judgement and fear of his past or his character. It's a hopeful idea and its charming naivete is a theme which is carried throughout the film. For much of the film these letters are shown through a voice-over provided by Lerman, who describes his efforts to live life, with the help and encouragement of his two friends and confidantes Patrick (Ezra Miller, who you may recognize from the critically acclaimed We Need to Talk about Kevin) and Sam (Emma Watson). This is where our story begins and the many rises and falls that can be expected from day-to-day high school life are recorded with a refreshing originality and zest that I haven't seen in a "coming-of- age" film for a very long time. Some of the highlights include an exploration of drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse, the minefield of first- relationships and love at first sight, homophobia, rejection and, above all, the fear that we haven't been noticed. Or, as Chbosky (writer, director and all-round genius) so eloquently and charmingly puts it, a wallflower.
If you would like to read the rest of my thoughts on this film then please go to this site (filmrambler.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-perks-of- being-wallflower.html)