The Perks of Being a Wallflower

There’s something about Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower that transcends the teen romantic drama genre into something adults can appreciate. Maybe it’s the story of artsy outsiders befriending a vulnerable freshman. Maybe it’s that the stories of young love aren’t so airy and idealistic, but raw and complicated. Maybe it’s the snarky, comical tone often taken. But this lovely film, with its perfect cast, surprised me and warmed my spirit.

The story follows Charlie (Logan Lerman), a shy and lonely high school freshman. He meets Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson), two senior half-siblings who welcome him to their eclectic group of friends. Charlie’s friends expose him to a whole world on the cusp of adulthood including productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, drugs and his first taste of romance. Over the school year their friendships grow, misadventures turn into a lifetime of memories and these things help him cope with past trauma.

The era the story takes place is never given a year, but feels like a magical time to be a teenager. Perhaps the early 1990s. It’s before cellphones and texting, so loneliness feels more authentic. Teen parties have an intimate feel, rather than a rowdy kegger. It’s when a typewriter is an exciting gift for a budding writer. The tunnel song is lost until it comes on the radio again and mixtapes are symbols of young love.

What makes this film so captivating is how Charlie is embraced by opening up about his underlying issues and yet many scenes are kept light and comical. The first comes fairly early when he casually blurts out while high at his first party that his best friend killed himself. The look of shock and sadness that crosses Sam’s face is heartbreaking as she’s making her high new friend a milkshake. It’s in that moment that Sam and her friends really embrace Charlie, help raise him up and welcome him to “the island of misfit toys.” It’s wonderful to watch them help him step out of the shadows of his depression and grow into a more confident young man.

The tunnel scene is the most memorable and is becoming iconic as this film ages. After his first party, Charlie gets a ride home with Patrick and Sam. As David Bowie’s Heroes plays on the radio, Sam exclaims that it’s a perfect song for the tunnel. Patrick drives through the tunnel, radio blasting Bowie and Sam slowly, but daringly slips out the back window of the pickup’s cab. She stands, spreading her arms like she’s flying, the tunnel lights glittering the tile around and the wind billowing her skirt triumphantly. It’s here that Charlie, looking up at her in awe, and probably still a little high, has his most quotable epiphany, “I feel infinite.”  It’s an exhilarating ride to usher Charlie into this new chapter of his life.

Perhaps what makes this film feel so authentic and resonating is the fact that the director, Stephen Chbosky is also the screenwriter and author of the novel. The film feels crafted carefully out of love, something I find very rare in this genre. If you’re looking for a teen film that can move and captivate adults, The Perks of Being a Wallflower should be on you list. 

“I know I’m quiet… and, and I know I should speak more. But if you knew the things that were in my head most of the time, you’d know what it really meant. How, how much we’re alike, and how we’ve been through the same things… and you’re not small. You’re beautiful.”

Little Women (2019)

My little boy asked me what Little Women was about; he’s often curious about the movies I go see. I explained to him simply that it’s about four sisters growing up together during the Civil War. They help each other and others through hard times and celebrate the happy times. They play, laugh, fight a bit, and love each other to no end. He smiled and said that it sounds like our family. Perhaps that’s what Greta Gerwig, and Louisa May Alcott before her, had hoped for, that we would see the March family as our own, connect to their struggles, triumphs and misadventures. With the film’s PG rating, I half considered going again to take my son, but at 5 years old, movies without talking animals, robots or musical numbers aren’t likely to hold is attention. Maybe in a few years.

Never could I have imagined such a perfect cast for this story. Saorise Ronan leads the film as Jo, the second eldest March sister who dreams of being a writer and an independent woman, something very rare in 19th century America. In the present, she is living in New York, selling stories but comes home at the news of Beth (Eliza Scanlen), her younger sister, has fallen ill. The eldest sister, Meg (Emma Watson) has a husband, two little kids and quiet financial woes. Watson portrays this modest, yet happy lifestyle well, but with a twinge of longing for more. Amy (Florence Pugh), the youngest sister seems to feel left out at times and is often gone when life is at its hardest, either by inexperience or away with Aunt March (Meryl Streep). Timothee Chalemet plays Laurie, the rich boy next door who is often a playmate and potential romantic partner to the sisters as they grow up together. Laura Dern portrays the girls’ mother, a strong resilient woman who has to lead her girls alone while her husband, (Bob Odenkirk) is off at war.

I love how at times these actors are portraying children at play in one scene and grown women with children, personal, financial and professional problems in the next. It can often be hard to believe young people in their 20s portraying a young teen, but that rarely happens in this film. The magic is that they are so believable and recognizable in both instances. I loved Amy as a young, jealous sister, desperately wanting to keep up with Jo, and Pugh allows her to grow up gracefully while keeping that chip on her shoulder. Each actress does this with their characters so wonderfully.

One of my favorite, and most touching scenes happens towards the beginning of the film and helps set the perfect tone. It is Christmas morning and the girls wake to find a beautiful breakfast sprawled across the table for them. Before they begin, their mother returns from the cold to tell them that the woman down the road with five small children has no food for them and asks her girls to give their breakfast to her. There’s a moment of hesitation, they’re young, and looking at that food we can’t blame them. They all realize it’s the right thing to do. The image of them carrying picnic baskets together through the snow is wonderful, but the joy they bring to this poor woman and her children with so little is fantastic. You can feel the warmth of the kind act straight through the screen. You can imagine no greater joy has happened in that cold shack except that Christmas morning. And the girls are rewarded for their kindness.

This adaptation is so full of color, movement and life. We feel the exhilaration of the dances and galas the older girls attend. Meg’s wedding, while so modest by today’s standards, could be the envy of modern brides. It is so full of color, beauty and life. Moments of sadness are full of blue and gray shadows. The costumes, from modest coats and hats in the snow to beautiful ball dresses are all lovely and the color pallets seem to match the personalities of the character wearing it.

Gerwig writes the screenplay so that the saddest moment in the film as a focal point where the past and present timelines meet. It’s a wonderful trick to the writing and makes the idea of moving on even more poignant. This moment, which is no less devastating for those who already know that story, made the entire sold out theater I sat in cry together. It was a rare, beautiful moment. All around I could hear stifled sniffles and atmosphere was filled with silent, shared tears.

I could go on and on about Gerwig’s Little Women. I feel that its six Oscar nominations are not quite enough, I firmly believe Gerwig should have been nominated for best director. Best Picture, adapted screenplay, original score, costume design, supporting actress for Pugh and leading actress for Ronan are certainly nothing to take for granted. But instead of sounding too greedy, I must leave it at this: Never have I seen a movie that so perfectly describes the plight of these young 19th century women. Amy spells it out perfectly, how little rights and economic power she has and how marriage may not always be about love, but money and how complicated and heartbreaking that can be. Jo shows us this, as she struggles to be taken seriously as a writer while secretly longing for love. Meg shows us that while it is hard to struggle, love is worth it. And Beth breaks our hearts with her encouragement, music and kindness.

“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for.”