Meet Charlie (Logan Lerman). He's 15. He's a freshman. He's pretty messed up. Simply put: Charlie has been through a lot. His best friend killed himself. His aunt died in a horrific car accident and I'm just getting started. Yeah, life has presented a few obstacles to this shy, innocent and wonderfully dispositioned young man. Hoping to put some of those problems aside, he starts high school. Hoping to make new friends, he meets seniors Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson). They are step bro and sis and take Charlie under their wings, introducing him to a circle of friends that truly gives him the friendship he seeks. Of course, as life does...it gets complicated. Charlie begins crushin' on Sam, while Patrick carries on a secret relationship with a football stud (Johnny Simmons). Meanwhile, Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman) is crushin' on Charlie, whom she informs is to be her boyfriend. Of course, Sam is dating a college dude (Reece Thompson), while Patrick's relationship begins to literally blow up in his face. You taking notes? Yeah, I know it sounds like your typical high school stuff, right? Like my senior year when all people could talk about was how senior Sally was dating freshman Brad and they wanted it to end because...well, I'm digressing, but you get my point. Most of the so-called meaningful stuff in high school is the non-sense. Throughout it all, we progress through Charlie's issues, moving toward a climax and yadayadayada getting to a meaningful point: We accept the love that we think we deserve.
It's good. Okay--I'll go with great on this one and 4.5 Stars. I knew nothing about the book and truly went into this one blind. Low expectations yielded great results with The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I loved this flick. Actually, I didn't want to see the rising conflict emerge in the movie because it would only mean the plot quickly evolving to a finish. No way, I wanted to experience the daily walks of three fascinating characters that were each well played. I wanted to get to know this crowd. Yes, that's partly because it reminds me of some of the characters that I used to hang out with, and partly because I wanted the opportunity to continue to connect with this group.
Logan Lerman...great work here. He truly grew with this role as an actor. Charlie is a challenge and Lerman truly captured everything from his naive innocence to his wrought emotional pain and problems. I've always liked this guy, but never been enthralled with one of his portrayals until this one. Don't get me wrong--he's always been a solid and talented actor, but this role was tough and he nailed it. Emma Watson...admittedly, it took a second to get used to her without the English accent, but she brings Sam to life in a very real way that would quickly have you putting her atop your best friends list. Ezra Miller...I've said all along that he is an incredible talent. He captured a fun-loving Patrick, who you know just keeps rolling out the laughs to prevent the rolling of the tears. All in all, each of these characters is so easy to connect with...so easy to love, and that has much to do with their actors.
It's a tough story. This isn't The Littlest Elf. It's complex real world pain; and we get to experience it all. It's a movie that captures the pain so much so, that you just want to put your arm around these characters and tell them that it's going to be okay. Actually, I'm going to have to read the book now to keep the connections rolling.
See this one and see it BIG. Yeah, you could wait for its January release to DVD. However, there is too much value in these 103 minutes to wait. It's been a limited release, but if you can find it in a theater, check it out.
True...OUT!
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