By Emily Stall
When I heard that Stephen Chbosky’s young adult novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, was
being made into a movie, I was first excited and then a little nervous.
Everyone knows that film adaptations of books are rarely as good as the
original novel. This movie is an exception, probably because the author
actually directed the film.
Perks is a coming
of age story about a lonely, depressed boy named Charlie who is starting his
freshman year of high school. He
befriends an eccentric senior, Patrick, and his beautiful stepsister, Sam, who
welcome Charlie into their friend group in an act of genuine kindness. As the
story unfolds, we learn more about Charlie’s past and the difficult situations he
has been through.
Chbosky explores difficult topics including homosexuality,
abuse, drugs, alcohol and love. Even with the serious subject matter, there
are many witty and humorous moments, like when Charlie inadvertently tries
marijuana for the first time in the form of brownies. As someone who is
notorious for crying at movies, I actually did not find myself sobbing during
this film, though there were many moments that were so touching my eyes just
filled ever so slightly. The three mains characters are so sincere and good
that you can’t help falling in love with them, and wanting to be more like
them.
In one of my favorite moments of the film, Sam, who just
learned that her boyfriend had been cheating on her for months, asks Charlie, “Why
do I and everyone I love pick people who treat us like we're nothing?” To which
Charlie replies, “We accept the love we think we deserve.”
Charlie learns to be active and participate in his life,
something we could all be reminded of. Driving through a tunnel at night with
his two best friends, listening to his favorite song and standing up on the bed
of Patrick’s truck (as any fan of the book will remember), Charlie asserts, “Right
now we are alive and in this moment I swear we are infinite.”
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