This coming-of-age story based on the bestseller by the same name starts fun but veers towards darker territory. It’s about a high-schooler who makes two older friends, played perfectly by Ezra Miller and Emma Watson. But as he gets closer to one of them, his anxieties and past trauma come to the surface. The impressive depth to which the makers of The Perks of Being a Wallflower were able to take it is what elevates it to greatness. It’s the perfect mix between easy and challenging. If there is ever such a thing, it’s this movie.
""Like real teenagers, Watson and Miller convincingly move from glowing objects of desire to comic relief to deeply troubled human beings.""
— Violet Lucca
"It's nostalgia with an emphasis on nostos, pain."
— David Edelstein
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.
Spirit Awards
1 win
WGA
1 nomination
Nat. Board of Review
1 nomination
I absolutely loved this movie. I originally watched it because of Emma Watson but the amount of thinking this movie had me doing was definitely surprising to say the least. Would definitely recommend to watch and enjoy its childish wonders.
This movie is perfect to watch when you’re feeling nostalgic for high-school. Truly a beautiful movie.
This film is truly one of the best I’ve ever seen. So inspiring and yes, I felt infinite too! Hero’s by David Bowie was always something I wanted to hear in a movie, and I got my wish! I’d rather hang with those people any day over the popular people, I was the same kind of person.
It succeeds at being a coming of age movie, but also functions as eloquent social commentary in ways that caught me off guard. I gotta say I really slept on this one and it’s great.