Sometimes I wonder what makes a movie a movie. Is it the cast? Or is it the plot line? Is the director's idea for the movie expressed accurately through the acting and special effects? Does the music used throughout the movie communicate the correct feelings to the audience? Or is a movie a combination of all these elements? Well, I believe I have the answer.
After seeing The Perks of Being a Wallflower yesterday, I realized that a movie is what it is due to how it is perceived by the audience. The cast determines how well the script and the plot is portrayed to the audience. The director's image and idea for the movie determines the emotions and how the content of the movie is presented for the viewers. The music communicates the feelings of the characters to the audience allowing them to be drawn deeper into the movie by feeling what the characters feel. All of this was done to almost perfection in Perks of Being a Wallflower as they portrayed the unseen challenges present in high school life for more kids than I think most people realize.
Everyone has memories of that first day of school when you were terrified about how you were going to fit in or be treated because school seemed to define you as a person. Perks of the Being a Wallflower captures the emotions of this experience by following the main character, Charlie, through his first year of high school from first day to the end of the year. The characters embodied by the cast make the movie relatable to every person. You will be able to identify with the cast and their obstacles instantaneously. You will remember a person like Charlie, Sam, or Patrick connecting you to the plot emotionally. This is possible because of the amazing acting talent featured in Perks of Being a Wallflower. With Logan Lerman as Charlie, Emma Watson as Sam, Ezra Miller as Patrick, and Paul Rudd as Mr. Anderson the script is brought to life from book to screen with such ease that by the end of the movie, you will see yourself in the characters one way or another.
I think this is possible because the director, Stephen Chbosky, is also the author of the book that the movie is based on. The book is awesome, I have already written a review on it, because it touches the reader with the story and the emotions felt by the characters. Since Chbosky directed the movie, an accurate version of the story was portrayed in the movie. It disappoints me when a movie comes out that is based on a book, but does not resemble the book at all. The plot or characters are changed which then changes the whole tone of the movie/book. However, in Perks of Being a Wallflower, this does not occur. The plot is untarnished and the theme stays true from book to movie, a BIG plus for me.
I think the most important part of this movie is the message communicated through the plot, characters, and music. A "wallflower" is a person who sees things and understands them for what they truly are. This is something that I think the world today is lacking. People today go about and see/focus on the superficial surface details of everyday life, not looking any deeper to assess the real problems, or issues, that exist. In Perks though, it is reiterated how at the heart of the issue, there may be problems, but there is also beauty to behold. You just have to look. And as I sat alone in the theater at the end of the movie, I realized, then, how it felt to be infinite.
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