October 06, 2012

Perks of Being a Wallflower

After a long time of being sick, I'm finally back. Been suffering this outrageous headache the past few days, but fortunately, things are getting better. Hopefully I'll be able to write more now. There's another thing called work that's keeping me from writing more here. But I'm just glad I'm back.

I haven't been able to watch any movies recently, so it was good to finally see the inside of the movie house once again. What better way to come back to the movie zone than by watching an Emma Watson movie? The sole reason I agreed to watch this movie was Emma Watson. I thought this was going to be one of those typical and generic teen movies. But I thought, watching Emma Watson in a role different from Hermione Granger would be refreshing enough to make those usually corny teen movies tolerable. But let me tell you now that this movie set itself apart from its peers. This movie was anything but your ordinary teen romantic movie. This had much more substance, much more volume and a wide range of variety. It did have stereotypical ingredients of a normal teen movie, but this was still of a different level.

I've read some people refer to the movie as a "coming-of-age movie", and I thought it was a perfect description of the movie. It's a period of exploration, a period of knowing and experiencing new things. The movie majestically created that atmosphere in a sophisticated manner. It was not a raunchy one, it was a real movie that combined passion and art realistically. It's a very refreshing movie, and it made me feel good that a movie in this particular genre can be as amazing as this one. I don't hate teen movies. I've seen several and I understand the appeal of it. It's just that most of it start to look the same and this movie was able to bring something new to the table.

The story was multi-layered and dynamic, I appreciated it about it. While my friends call it a romance movie, the movie experimented not only with romance but with friendships, trauma, and abuse. It also had the element of family, death, love, and being in terms of who the characters really were. It's a story of how a boy  who had horrible experiences managed to find his "place" in the world. How he was able to cope with all the anxieties and turned his life around. How he got people who loved him support him through the whole process. It's a real feel good movie. It didn't hurt that this movie, while really moving, was also hilarious. A funny dramtic movie - that's how I saw the movie.

The brilliant story was backed by outstanding performances from the whole cast. Logan Lerman, who I first saw in the movie Gamer (starring Gerard Butler) was able to be real lead i this movie. His performance as the shy, innocent and naive boy who slowly fought his way through his hardships was convincing and heartfelt. Emma Watson was just as amazing. First of all, we have to hand it to her for speaking withour her British accent. That must've been tough. I kept remembering Hugh Laurie, the star of the television series House, who also had to speak without his accent for his work. It was impressive, really. Also, it wasn't just the way she spoke, but also the way she took the character of Sam and made it an adorable yet significantly captivating one. The connection of Logan and Watson was really a treat and it made the dynamics of the characters work.

The other characters also made their mark on the film. Starting with Ezra Miller, who was probably one of the best things of the movie. He gave one of the strongest acting performances in the movie. Actually his portrayal of Patrick was one to give chills and to impress movie-goers. He's a fantastic actor. Mae Whitman was also a hard-rocking yet lovable character in the movie. She was someone you really rooted for. And although she didn't have much lines, Erin Wilhelmi had a charming presence as Alice. I also liked the fact that Nina Dobrev, Kate Walsh, Paul Rudd and Joan Cusack were all thin movie. Everyone in the movie is really awesome and I am supporters of all of them.

I really enjoyed the movie, mostly for the quality of the story and the phenomenal performances of the actors involved in the story. I also liked the direction of Stephen Chbosky, who also wrote the book the movie was based on. It was clear and concise. It wasn't all jumbled up even though a lot of things were happening. I'd say though that the cuts/transitions from one scene to another was a little weird. Although I think that was the movie house's fault. I'd watch it in another place to make sure. It was just weird that another scene was showing when the scene before didn't seem done yet. I'm not sure.

All I'll say now is that the movie is getting a wider release this weekend and I hope people, especially the younger ones, the real target market of the movie, take the time to check it out. It's a movie worth seeing, and a movie so beautifully done as well. It's amazing and seeing the actors bring it to life is something we all can appreciate.

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