"Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope-and the unforgettable friends that help us through life."
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It's very rare that a mind-blowingly good book gets adapted into a mind-blowingly good movie. Even rarer is the occurrence that said book/movie renders me speechless.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, book and movie, did just that.
This movie was perfect. Sure, I could get out my thesaurus and write a needlessly verbose description of its amazingness, but that sentence really does say it all. The actors were perfect, the character portrayals were spot-on, and, despite some scenes being taken out in the adaptation, the movie managed to stay true to the book. Granted, there were some deleted scenes that I wished they had included (especially the abortion scene with Charlie and his sister) but overall, this movie has really managed to retain the original essence of the book while simultaneously adding a new dimension to the story that made me fall even more in love with the characters.
Let's start off with the cast because it was utterly flawless. Logan Lerman was the perfect Charlie. You can't even make an argument otherwise. Just no. Don't even. His portrayal was so good that I don't even know what to say. Lerman just embodied everything that was Charlie. His naiveté, his awkwardness, his turmoil of emotions, his desire to reach out and make a friend, everything was there. If anything, seeing Charlie as a living, breathing human instead of someone I imagined in my head made his character all the more endearing.
Emma Watson was exactly how I imagined Sam to be, but if I had to be honest, the one who really stole the show, aside from Logan Lerman, was Ezra Miller as Patrick.
OH. MY GOSH.
JUST- HE'S SO- I CAN'T EVEN-
I JUST LOVE HIM.
So much.
In the books, Patrick was an okay side character. I mean, I liked him, but mainly he was just there. It was Charlie that I really fell in love with, and that is why I absolutely love movie adaptations because in a movie you see more of the other characters. You notice their little quirks and laugh at their one-liners and you get more attached to them than you did while reading. Ezra Miller not only brought out Patrick's hilarious sense of humor and happy-go-lucky personality, he also did a phenomenal job showing Patrick's emotional downward spiral when his relationship with Brad went south. Miller's acting was just amazing....and it doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes.
If I had to answer the book vs. movie question, I will have to say that I preferred the book. In general, I just found it to be more powerful. I admit that cried while watching the movie. Twice. But I usually tend to cry more often while watching something as opposed to reading it. All the same, this movie did touch me on an emotional level--I ached when the characters were hurting and I cheered when I saw Charlie making friends and participating.
All in all:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, book and movie, did just that.
This movie was perfect. Sure, I could get out my thesaurus and write a needlessly verbose description of its amazingness, but that sentence really does say it all. The actors were perfect, the character portrayals were spot-on, and, despite some scenes being taken out in the adaptation, the movie managed to stay true to the book. Granted, there were some deleted scenes that I wished they had included (especially the abortion scene with Charlie and his sister) but overall, this movie has really managed to retain the original essence of the book while simultaneously adding a new dimension to the story that made me fall even more in love with the characters.
Let's start off with the cast because it was utterly flawless. Logan Lerman was the perfect Charlie. You can't even make an argument otherwise. Just no. Don't even. His portrayal was so good that I don't even know what to say. Lerman just embodied everything that was Charlie. His naiveté, his awkwardness, his turmoil of emotions, his desire to reach out and make a friend, everything was there. If anything, seeing Charlie as a living, breathing human instead of someone I imagined in my head made his character all the more endearing.
Emma Watson was exactly how I imagined Sam to be, but if I had to be honest, the one who really stole the show, aside from Logan Lerman, was Ezra Miller as Patrick.
OH. MY GOSH.
JUST- HE'S SO- I CAN'T EVEN-
I JUST LOVE HIM.
So much.
In the books, Patrick was an okay side character. I mean, I liked him, but mainly he was just there. It was Charlie that I really fell in love with, and that is why I absolutely love movie adaptations because in a movie you see more of the other characters. You notice their little quirks and laugh at their one-liners and you get more attached to them than you did while reading. Ezra Miller not only brought out Patrick's hilarious sense of humor and happy-go-lucky personality, he also did a phenomenal job showing Patrick's emotional downward spiral when his relationship with Brad went south. Miller's acting was just amazing....and it doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes.
If I had to answer the book vs. movie question, I will have to say that I preferred the book. In general, I just found it to be more powerful. I admit that cried while watching the movie. Twice. But I usually tend to cry more often while watching something as opposed to reading it. All the same, this movie did touch me on an emotional level--I ached when the characters were hurting and I cheered when I saw Charlie making friends and participating.
All in all:
It's SO neat that I accidentally just stumbled upon your blog because I just watched this movie over the weekend! I rented it, having never read the book, and watched it with my sister who's a big fan of the book. She said, just like you did, that it was so well done and true to the story.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to say that I've been converted after watching the movie! It was very well done, and I loved the three main actors/actress. It was absolutely outstanding - I personally loved Emma Watson :)
Thanks for sharing!
Brenna from Esther's Ever After
Hehe, I see you enjoyed the movie! XD Patrick was so hilarious, he was seriously the best actor in the movie and even though I haven't watched some deleted scenes I bet those scenes would have made it too off-track to stay focus for in the movie than in the book...
ReplyDeleteLovely movie review, Joie! ^^
Hi Joie!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie was perfect! The cast suited their characters amazingly. I found Charlie's character not only endearing, but intriguing also. I was a fan of his voiceover scenes. I thought that it allowed the audience to feel his position. The growing relationships between the characters well developed the story line. The flashback scenes also added a powerful touch to the movie.
Thank you for your wonderful review!