The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Quite simply put I was completely blown away by this film. It was funny, touching, and at times exceptionally disturbing. Yet it handled the emotional changes in an almost seamless way. Most films that deal with deeply troubling issues of abuse of any kind tend to let the shock value of a certain event or events take center stage but that is not done in this film. The main character Charlie through his friendships learns to experience life in a new way and learns to let go of his guilt. It is rare to have a film this emotionally powerful work so well as a film. A lot of people are talking about the film's soundtrack which is brilliant and in that regard along with it's high school setting comparing it to movies like The Breakfast Club. The difference is that although The Breakfast Club is a great movie it does not take as sincere and as deep a look into the darkness of bigotry and adolescent abuse as The  Perks of Being A Wallflower does. The character of Patrick does a wonderful job of showing how humor and flamboyance are often a cover used to deal with much deeper issues like anger. Anger at an ignorant world around them that will not let people like Patrick be who they are. Emma Watson has found the perfect movie to break away from the world of Harry Potter. She portrays an extremely complex, endearing and loving character in Sam. There is a resilience in her character that gives her an inner strength that few female characters ever truly display in mainstream Hollywood films. The ensemble cast was great and every character filed their role perfectly. Paul Rudd was perfect in his role as Charlie's quasi mentor/teacher. It was also nice to see it mentioned how there are an outstanding number of teachers who truly care about and inspire their students. So often behind every success story a teacher has had some small role in helping to develop and shape people who have gone on to utilize their talent and achieve great things. Few films are able to blend comedy and tragedy seamlessly together and hold your attention for the duration of a film. That is to me what makes this film so truly special. Lastly, this film is about the journey and character transformation of Charlie. Charlie is easy to miss and he is easy to make fun of. A true wallflower to say the least. But what a brilliant job this film does to show us how cruel, stupid and ignorant students can be in high school and how most of this hate and bigotry comes from their parents. What a great way of examining and letting it unfold over the course of the film as to why Charlie is the way he is. Also add in some Hollywood magic and in many ways like the ending of Little Miss Sunshine if you do not have a smile on your face at the last scene after enduring Charlie's journey I don't know what to say. Absolutely brilliant!