The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

A lime green wall with the words 'we are infinite', a boy stands beside a girl, she leans her head on the shoulder of another boy.The Perks of Being Percy Jackson, Hermione Granger and Kevin (who needs to be talked about)

An introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world, in a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope-and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.


Despite having many successful examples, it really can be difficult to get a book to translate onto the big screen. For every great adaptation like Life of Pi or The Lord of The Rings trilogy, there can easily be a poor attempt come out like The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. What can be even worse is when the books own creator, be they Stephen King for The Shining or Alan Moore for any adaptations of his works, disowns the film and badmouths it whenever they can.

Stephen Chbosky has managed to bypass all of that by adapting his own book onto the big screen, writing the screenplay and also directing. In this, he takes the right direction, as he knows the characters he created and what parts from the book were essential for the film better than any hired screenwriter could have, creating both a magnificent adaptation of a brilliant book and an astounding film in its own right.

The cast are absolutely perfect in their roles, and I'm not just talking about the lead roles, but the entire cast. From Nina Dobrev to Paul Rudd, every single actor here is at the top of their game. Ezra Miller may be the most humorous of the cast, but that doesn't mean you should expect nothing but laughs from him, showcasing a great range of emotions that make you feel for his character of Patrick. Emma Watson does a great job showing she has a career outside the wizarding world of Harry Potter, but Logan Lerman is definitely the star of this film. He perfectly embodies Charlie, the misfit who wants nothing more than friends while trying to make it through the bad moments, giving us a character who we cannot help but smile with when he's happy and having a wonderful time, yet also feel for when he goes through the bad moments.

"Told you I could totally pull of Ryan Gosling in Drive"

Chbosky manages to do a wonderful balance between the humorous and dramatic moments, having a moment like Charlie getting high for the first time comfortably fit alongside a dramatic revelation, never feeling like a sudden tonal shift. But neither the humor nor the drama are what truly makes this film, but the pure emotion. None of it feels overdone or emotionally manipulative, but very genuine and full of heart.

Filled with a perfect cast that embody some of the most amazing characters in years, this humorous, dramatic & emotional masterpiece truly is a film that will make you feel infinite.

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