Love always, Charlie

Warning : This article includes triggering topics like sexual abuse and mental health issues and also contains spoilers for The Perks of being a Wallflower.

Based on the book 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky.

Directed and Written by Stephen Chbosky

Starring : Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd, Johnny Simmons, Nina Dobrev, Nicholas Braun and many more.

This movie felt like a tunnel that bookends its cinematic rendering: a warmly lit, strangely mystical-feeling portal. The first time i was introduced to the universe of Perks was when I was 14. Although my introduction to this was through the novel, the movie was something that brought my imagination to life.

The movie follows Charlie, a shy and introverted high school freshman, as he navigates through his teenage years after losing his best friend to suicide . He writes letters to his "friend", telling them about his experiences in high school.

Logan Lerman was surely the best casting choice as he had the ability to somehow be that handsome and also be that believable as someone that was very socially awkward. As an alone and pitied freshman, he connects with his english teacher, Mr. Anderson, who often gives him books to read and some advice we all wish we had in our fucked up early teens.

Soon enough, Charlie finds some friends in this new scary place : a duo of self proclaimed misfits and accidental step-siblings, Sam and Patrick. When Sam and Patrick introduce him to different types of music and films and take him to parties, we see him being drawn out of his shell and participate more in life.

Although this cute little friend group seems happy, there are underlying issues all of them have to face. For Charlie, it is repressed childhood trauma, i.e, memories of his Aunt Helen who used to molest him because of her familial issues, along with the death of his best friend which causes his mental health problems. As for Sam, even though she is kind and offers Charlie a much needed friendship, she struggles through various insecurities and realizing her self worth. Patrick, who is unapologetically himself, faces struggles due to his sexuality.

How Charlie's friendships evolve into misfired romances and then back into friendships, only stronger than before, is the backbone of the novel and the film. One of the best things ever about this film is how it talks about issues which are sanitized in most movies. The adaptation doesn’t avoid the elements that have kept Perks high on the American Library Association’s list of banned and challenged books for over a decade—homosexuality, drugs, comments confronting religious belief, teenage sex, rape and abortion. These “controversies” are portrayed in an unremarkable fashion. The nucleus of Charlie’s social group—Sam and Patrick, half-siblings who experience romantic feelings of varying degrees for Charlie at different points—are as appealing as they were on the page, both convincingly playing the roles of the comic relief as well as real troubled teenagers.

When most people watch this film, they tend to have a favorite scene which is either the conversation of Charlie with Mr Anderson where he says,

We accept the love we think we deserve.

or the scene where the trio drives through a tunnel, blasting the song 'Heroes' by David Bowie and Charlie says,

and in this moment, I swear, We are infinite.

but there is another scene which deserves as much appreciation as these two, which is when Charlie is dared to "kiss the prettiest girl in the room", he chooses to kiss Sam over his own girlfriend. I loved how uncomfortable that scene was. I loved everything about it. And I loved the little misdirect where he says, “I keep fantasizing that one of us is dying of cancer, so I don’t have to break up with her”. I still remember myself gasping 10 seconds later.

The film’s early 90s setting and atmosphere are incredibly strong. One element that is important to this aspect of the film is its soundtrack, both because of what it lends to the atmosphere and also because all the characters are music-lovers (I have all the music from this film in my playlists). From Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Come on Eileen” to The Smiths’ “Asleep,” the music in the film is ELITE. From the dancing at prom to much lower moments, each scene has the perfect music.

I will forever remember the impact this film had on me as a 14 year old kid struggling to fit in. I will forever place it in one of the best movie experiences I have ever had. I will forever be thankful to Stephen Chbosky for writing and directing such a brilliant movie. I will forever be in awe of how perfectly the pages of the novel were brought to life by all the actors and I will forever and ever, keep this movie in a corner of my heart, for the times when it aches of sorrow and lows of life.

As Charlie would say,

“I know these will all be stories some day, and our pictures will become old photographs. We all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song, and that drive with the people who you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite.”