The Perks of Being a Wallflower (M). Director: Stephen Chbosky. Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd, Johnny Simmons, Mae Whitman. 102 minutes
Charlie (Lerman) has a sad story. He is the youngest child of an affluent suburban family. He is intelligent and loved by his parents. But there is trauma in his past, including most recently the suicide of his best (and only) friend. He's dealing with this as best he can while also confronting the daunting prospect of entering high school — a place where he is bullied even by other smart kids. He is literally counting the days until he graduates.
Charlie narrates The Perks of Being a Wildflower via a series of letters he is writing to an anonymous recipient whom he merely addresses as 'Dear friend'. These written monologues are part journal, part confessional. They relate his first awkward days at the new school, and his eventual discovery of a network of older kids, including charismatic Patrick (Miller) and his half sister Sam (Watson), self-declared misfits who take him under their wing.
Charlie, an apsiring writer, finds in Patrick, Sam and their assembled gang of goths, punks and artists not only sympathetic souls but kindred spirits. They nurture his individuality, introduce him to their most beloved music, take him to parties, share drugs and dreams. He becomes infatuated with Sam, and their relationship forms the heart of the film, and is sweetly, authentically evocative of high school not-quite-romances.
Charlie's sad story contains other sad stories. An introvert and a writer, he is deeply empathetic. He sees in others sad stories that reflect his own. Sam is a smart girl with troubled self-esteem. Patrick is openly gay but is engaged in a secret affair with a closeted jock, Brad (Simmons). Charlie's sympathy regarding this painful scenario is mainly for Patrick, but he sees enough to understand that it is a sad story for Brad, too.
The sadness is evoked but not laboured by first-time director Chbosky, who wrote the screenplay based on his own 1999 novel. Far from self-indulgent, Chbosky's treatment of his source material is suitably economical. His tightly constructed screenplay is coaxed to life by a gentle directorial touch and nicely naturalistic performances. Chbosky's empathy for the characters, mirrored in their empathy for each other, elicits an aching pathos.
Even loose narrative threads are plucked for their emotional resonance. Charlie's sister is in a physically abusive relationship; this