The Perks of Being a Wallflower [DVD]

Once in a while, you are lucky to come across a film that feels just right. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is one of those treasures. That was possible as it was directed by Stephen Chbosky, a man who wrote The Perks of Being a Wallflower (as well as screenplay for the film). Therefore, the film is very close and follows the book precisely, although, in comparison to the book "The Perks of being of Wallflower" (which is a truly engaging coming of age story), the film did not shine so brighly for me. Ocasionally, it is a bit hard to follow and I was constantly thinking of people who did not read the book and how would they enjoy the film (as the book provides much detailed and solid background - some things are not clear from the film, and a lot of problems, e.g. violent boyfriend - are not given enough depth and resolved a bit too quickly; a poem Charlie writes and reads at Christmas - extremely moving scene even in the film, which was deleted (!), but when I read it in the book I almost cried). But it's not a case about book v film! From what I could see on screen, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" felt right, it perfectly captured all of the turmoil of growing up, highs and lows of adolescence in the late 80's - early 90's America's East Coast youth, and youth anytime, anywhere, I would imagine, with the self-made compilation albums (God, I made loads of those in school!), first crushes, various insecurities, schools' most popular people and their secrets - have not all of us experienced these things? I am not going to summorise the story, you will have to watch the film. Besides, I imagine a lot of people read the book. But just take my word that this is a really good, enjoyable film that is thoughtful and wonderful and so worth seeing. And it features wonderful actors. There is some great acting, especially from AMAZING Ezra Miller. Seriosly, this is the film where he truly shines (he also shined in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) [DVD ], but that film was emotionally hard to watch and my view of Ezra's acting was somewhat tarnished). But here, for his portrait of Patrick, I award him my personal Oscar. He performs, he is so comfortable in his skin and in his role, that he steals the show from [even] Emma Watson (that has a major film experience behind her), basically, screen lights up whenever Ezra is in the frame. Same goes for the soundtrack - another star. I am getting it as soon as I finish this review (even though, as some reviewers pointed out, the OST does not contain all the wonderful music featured in the film). Absolutely worth seeing. I was thinking about 4 stars because I still prefer the book to the film. But then I thought, to hell with it, such a great acting, directing, music, story, everything. Everything about it is perfect. Especially if you like this kind of stories (a fair warning: perhaps, if you are more into Action/Thrillers, this will not rock your boat... But give it a try, anyway?!) P.S. If you like the coming of age stories, check out Adventureland [DVD ]- also human and cool.

From watching the trailer, I got a slight understanding of the film; guy has no friends when he starts his first year in high school and struggles to make them also, he then finally meets some nice people who befriend him, which to one he falls in love with. Whilst the base of the story is just as I had predicted, the film as a whole was so much more. Charlie who is the main character is extremely socially awkward, and you get hints close to the beginning that something in his past had caused him to be this way, eventually you start finding out Charlie has a very deep story in the past which is gradually explained through as the film goes on by flash-backs, you will eventually find out why he is the person he is today, this combined with the journey through his first year with his new friends who also have different personal issues makes this film an emotional roller-coaster. I don't want to ruin the story for those who haven't seen it, so I'm not going to go into further detail. On a final note, I do want to point out that the cast for this film was perfect, they were all brilliant at their roles and made the film very believable. I also want to say Emma Watson did an especially good job at portraying her character 'Sam'. As she's widely recognised for playing Hermione from the Harry Potter films, it must have been hard for her to shake off that image that has been imprinted into peoples minds throughout these years, which she has done so brilliantly in this film, this shows how good she is of an actress. I would highly recommend this film for those who enjoy drama/romantic based films and I certainly will be buying this film when it comes out on DVD/Blu-ray.

The first time I saw The Perks, I was stunned: this coming-of-age story got me hooked right away! Great characters, a simple yet touching plot and young, new actors, what more does a movie need? This DVD was delivered to me really fast, it was pre-ordered, so when the DVD was released on 11th February, it was send to Belgium right away and 2 days later I was able to enjoy The Perks once again! Yay!

This film is the real deal. It is quite possibly the greatest adaptation of a novel ever made, the author assembled a cast of phenomenally talented young actors who all put their heart and soul into telling the story on-screen and pretty much lived in the scenes rather than acting in them. So far I have viewed all the special features except Stephen Chbosky's solo commentary and I have to say this is a must have for fans of the film, the director/cast commentary is as funny as it is touching, insightful as it is entertaining. I struggle to think of a film that was made with such love and dedication and that exhudes the almost palpable sense of camaraderie with its audience that Perks does.

I watched this film after reading the book (though I only read the book because I wanted to see the film) and personally, I think it's a great adaptation. The film stays faithful to the characters and plot of the book, a benefit of having the author write the screenplay, I'm sure, and some of the acting is outstanding. Logan Lerman stands out for me. The more you watch the film, the more you pick up on his body language. Ezra Miller was perfect as Patrick and provides the light relief in this film inbetween those moments of darkness and sadness. If you aren't aware of the plot of this movie/the book, I won't spoil it but do be prepared to shed the odd tear. This film is one of my favourites now and I can't count how many times I've watched it. It's something special and has earned a place in my heart. The only negative I can find with it is I wish Emma Watson hadn't attempted an American accent, since she couldn't hold it for the entire film. Other than that, it's perfect.

Besser hätten die Darsteller gar nicht gewählt werden können. Jeder einzelne Darsteller passt perfekt zu den Figuren im Buch. Jeder spielt überzeugend und reißt einen mit. Die Geschichte selbst fängt an wie eine klassische Teenie-Komödie, doch das ist sie mitnichten. Der Text auf der Rückseite der DVD wird dem Film meiner Meinung nach nicht gerecht. Denn es geht hier um sehr viel mehr. Ein Film über Freundschaft. Liebe. Einsamkeit. Trauer. Verlust. Homosexualität. Drogen. Missbrauch. Familie. Angst. Depressionen. Selbstmord. Außenseiter. Alleinsein. Anderssein. Die Maske, hinter der man sich versteckt, um sein wahres Ich zu verstecken. Musik. Lebensfreude. Vielleicht lieber morgen ist nicht einfach eine Komödie und wer eine solche erwartet, wird sicherlich enttäuscht werden. Denn dieser Film hat Tiefgang. Er hinterlässt einen mit einem lachenden und einem weinenden Auge. Die Wendung am Ende des Films kommt unerwartet und ist auch nicht gleich offensichtlich. Ich habe mit verschiedenen Freunden den Film angeschaut und manche haben so wie ich sofort verstanden, was passiert ist, andere waren nach dem Film ratlos und fragten mich: "Was war denn das jetzt? Hab ich nicht verstanden..." Es ist kein einfacher Film. Ein Film, über den man nachdenken kann und muss. Der einen beschäftigt. Und der einen trotzdem nicht deprimiert, denn trotz des entsetzlichen Vorfalls entlässt uns Charlie mit positiven und mutmachenden Worten. Erwähnenswert finde ich auch den unglaublichen Soundtrack. Die Musik spielt in dem Film eine aktive Rolle, sie ist nicht nur als Beiwerk da, sondern ist ein richtiger Teil des Films. Und zwar ein sehr gelungener. Auch wenn es hauptsächlich "Oldies" sind, so passen sie perfekt und man möchte einfach nur laut mitsingen. Auch hier lohnt sich die Originalfassung in Englisch, auch wenn die deutsche Fassung durchaus gelungen ist. Lesenswert ist das Buch "Das also ist mein Leben" von Stephen Chbosky. Das Buch wurde im Film wirklich gut umgesetzt! Darsteller Logan Lerman: Spielt den schüchternen Charlie. Und ist schlichtweg perfekt darin. Er lässt einen mitfühlen, reißt einen mit in seine Gedanken- und Gefühlswelt und lässt einen nicht mehr los. Emma Watson: Spielt Sam. Aufgedreht. Verrückt. Und augenscheinlich voller Lebensfreude. Doch tief unter dieser Fassade steckt ein völlig anderer Mensch. Auch Emma Watson macht ihre Sache mal wieder sehr gut, man fühlt die innere Zerrissenheit, der Wunsch nach Liebe, die Traurigkeit regelrecht. Ezra Miller: Einfach nur perfekt für den aufgedrehten Patrick! Der schwule Stiefbruder von Sam ist äußerlich unverwundbar - der klassische Klassenclown. Doch innerlich schlummert ein sensibler Mensch, dem eben nicht alles egal ist. Und das spielt Ezra einfach perfekt. Fazit Einer meiner Lieblingsfilme, den ich immer wieder gerne auf deutsch oder auch auf englisch anschaue. Unbedingt sehenswert! Solange man keine gehaltlose Teenie-Komödie erwartet...

Un très beau film d’une grande sensibilité sur le monde de l’adolescence qui nous bouleverse et nous fait frémir d’émotions. Le personnage principal est très touchant. A l’heure de la rentrée au lycée, Charlie est introverti, petit pour son âge, intelligent et trop vite classé comme un potentiel boloss. Il se trouve rejeté par ses anciennes connaissances qui même sollicités ne veulent pas s’afficher avec lui. Il fera la connaissance d’un garçon et d’une fille de terminale qui l’accueilleront dans leur groupe, lui ouvriront les portes de leur monde et lui permettront de grandir. Ce film pour tout public est un petit bijou, un remède à la déprime que je vais sans doute voir et revoir et que je recommande vivement.

I absolutely LOVE this movie! I read the book first, and this was by far one of the best book-to-movie adaptations that I have ever seen! The cast, the story, the filmmaking...absolutely everything was perfect! I loved the book, so unsurprisingly, I loved the story that the movie shared just the same. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a touching story that draws you in and makes you feel! I couldn't help but relate to Charlie and feel for everything that he went through. His story was hard to get through at times, and it leaves you feeling for him, but I just loved Charlie so much. He's one of those characters that you just want to give a big hug to, and I loved seeing him get out there and make friends. And the friends he made were fantastic! I just loved this story, and the adaptation is perfection! I highly recommend it! :D

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Super recomendable a cualquiera, muy tierna y nos muestra un poco de lo bueno en un momento bastante malo, muy disfrutable y entrañable.