Adolescence is a funny thing. It’s a time when kids start to stumble out of
the blissful ignorance of childhood and into the complicated world of adults,
when they’re expected to find themselves as individuals yet nothing seems more
important than the need to fit in, to belong. Ripe with soapy drama and easily
manufactured conflict, the subject has been tackled endlessly in movies, TV
shows and books. However, the truth is that said movies, TV shows and books
often aren’t particularly good, all too frequently succumbing to lazy
stereotypes and artificial sentimentality – high school as seen through the
eyes of the middle-aged.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower doesn’t do anything groundbreaking
or radical. Stripped to its bare bones, the story seems melodramatic and cliché-ridden,
populated by the stock character types we’ve come to expect from every teen
flick. There’s the shy, bookish loner, the charming and attractive girl of his
dreams, the outspoken gay guy, the secretly sensitive (and, in this case,
closeted) jock. Furthermore, touching on bullying, drinking, drugs, sexual
responsibility, homophobia and even sexual abuse, the movie covers enough
issues to fill an afterschool special or ten; one character even says as much
halfway through. Add to that an obsession with mix tapes that gives it a
slightly dated feel, and you’d be forgiven for thinking the whole affair sounds
like a mediocre, histrionic sap-fest. And yet, to the contrary, Wallflower turns out to be one of the
best teen-centric movies in years.
Exuding the intimate sweetness
of a John Hughes or Cameron Crowe film, the adaptation of Stephen Chbosky’s
1999 bestselling, coming-of-age tale succeeds for two primary reasons. The
first is its onscreen talent. The cast boasts a few names audiences should
recognize, like Paul Rudd and Joan Cusack, in supporting roles, but make no
mistake: the spotlight belongs to the young stars headlining its official
poster. Unless you’re an extreme fan of the Percy
Jackson franchise (or perhaps thought his turn as Christian Bale’s son in
2007’s 3:10 to Yuma was sublimely
underrated, as I did), chances are you won’t recognize Logan Lerman, who plays Charlie,
the narrator and central protagonist of the story. With his dark brown hair and
still very boyish face, Lerman is the definition of nondescript, something
emphasized by Charlie’s affinity for T-shirts and jeans. In this case, that
ordinariness works entirely in his favor. He’s ideal as the normal, relatable
calm at the center of everyone else’s little hurricanes, and the actor does a
good job of projecting his character’s inner turmoil through minute changes in
expression and body language. In her first role since Harry Potter wrapped up, Emma Watson sheds any remnants of Hermione
within minutes of first appearing on screen. She’s a delight as the
sophisticated and vivacious yet quietly troubled Sam and it’s clear she has the
talent and charisma to have a fruitful career long after Hogwarts.
Still, the show arguably belongs
to Erza Miller, who first grabbed attention within the industry for his role as
the title character in last year’s We
Need to Talk about Kevin, though it’s unlikely many in Wallflower’s target audience saw that one. For his introduction to
more mainstream audiences, Miller portrays Patrick, Sam’s step-brother and the
guy every obnoxious loudmouth in your freshman classes wanted to be. Brash,
bold and snarky, the character could have come across as an irritating cartoon,
the type of person who could only exist in a movie. What makes Miller’s
performance so remarkable is his ability to let viewers see the emotional
undercurrents bubbling just beneath that confident façade. Even when he’s in
drag and giving a surprised girl a lap dance at a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening, Patrick is utterly believable as
a person; he feels real.
The second secret behind Wallflower’s success is Chbosky himself.
Considering that the author not only adapted his own material for the screen,
but also took on the rather daunting task of directing it, it doesn’t take a
genius to see how much this story matters to him. His passion more than comes
through, bringing such an effervescence to the screen that it’s easy to forgive
the more trite or maudlin elements of the narrative. What really makes the film
work is Chbosky’s refusal to condescend towards his characters or to treat them
as broad, satirical stereotypes, no matter how trivial and ultimately meaningless
their problems seem in the grander scheme of things. They possess real depth
and agency, and you can feel his empathy for them in all their flawed exuberance
and selfish insecurity. He eschews moralizing for something far more honest. Infused
with an incredible, life-affirming spirit, the movie captures the fears and intense
loneliness as well as the joys and thrills of being a teenager, acknowledging how
every moment feels so precious in the face of a future that’s both scary and
exciting for being unknown and that seems to be approaching all too quickly. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is
infinite in its sincerity and compassion, and for that, it’s pretty radical
after all.
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