In the simplest sense, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a movie steeped in nostalgia. While we may have nestled into our college lives after a few years, we all remember in some sense what it feels like to be sixteen-the anxieties of fitting in, the challenge of being yourself and the impossible task of figuring out the opposite sex. The Perks of Being a Wallflower reminds viewers that while these fears may ease with age, they remain lifelong struggles.

Set in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s, Charlie, (Logan Lerman), is starting out his freshman year of high school as an unpopular, sensitive and seemingly traumatized adolescent. He's going back to school after a difficult previous year; his best friend committed suicide, and he is struggling to fight back his own encroaching depression and anxiety. Lonely and lost, Charlie attempts to adjust to the wear and tear of high school while Patrick (Ezra Miller) and his stepsister Sam (Emma Watson), Charlie's love interest, enter the picture.

The two misfits and their group of friends take Charlie under their collective wing and introduce him to the unfamiliar world of drugs and friendship. Stephen Chbosky, the novel's author, also directs the movie. Chboksy's heart-wrenching narrative will undoubtedly strike a chord and compel viewers to return again and again to this story.

The main characters struggle with the issues still plaguing us as we climb into our twenties: feeling lonely, under-loved or misunderstood. During the film's few hours, you'll be transported to your own first experience getting "baked as a cake" by a substance-enhanced pastry. You'll be reminded of the constant challenge of managing your evolving relationships and navigating the uncertain waters of unwanted feelings. It's a shame the movie was primarily marketed toward teenagers; in many ways, the movie-like the book-has the unique and rare ability to transcend all demographics.

Though closely following the book, the film version isn't afraid to change the story and tweak the dialogue. While several poignant lines from the book, like "We are infinite" and "I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you," are interestingly woven into the movie, other parts from the book are altered and some are cut altogether. But it's that fearlessness that will give past readers the invaluable joy of rediscovering this story and leave new viewers with a haunting experience.

Where many high school dramas are afraid to go, this film dives into the darkest territories of adolescence with realism and grace. The last 15 minutes of the film will have new viewers reeling and dedicated fans digging their nails into their skin as they anticipate the end. The film's dark underbelly propels Perks beyond the clich?(c)d, traditional coming-of-age narrative into a more well-rounded look at the challenges that teenagers face.
Luckily, Miller's comedic performance as Patrick provides the perfect counterweight to balance the more serious tone of the film. While Patrick is openly gay and unperturbed by the bullying he encounters in high school, Patrick's boyfriend, the popular quarterback played by Johnny Simmons, is caught between embracing his sexuality and hiding it from his friends and family. While Miller is able to deliver his character's self-assured and witty one-liners, he can also turn around to sympathetically portray a tortured young gay man dealing with rejection and depression.

Perhaps the only element in the film that outshines Miller's chameleon-like acting is Lerman, the lead actor. When you get past his arresting good looks, you realize Lerman innately understands the vulnerabilities and excruciating wounds Charlie bears in the novel. He loves unconditionally and without judgment. While Miller and Watson's unrestrained individualism is sometimes unrealistic, Lerman makes Charlie relatable and endearing. His performance pushes through the fourth wall so the viewer feels these emotions with Charlie: his happiness as he makes his first friends in high school, his heartbreak when Sam chooses someone else to love and his anxiety of an impending emotional breakdown. Charlie jumps out of the book and onto the screen with the Pittsburgh backdrop, embodying the heartwarming earnestness and innocence of the original lonely boy.

That being said, Watson's performance opposite Lerman proves to be the weakest element in the film, but it's not entirely her fault. Playing the world-shifting femme fatale is never easy. While there's incredible depth and potential to Sam's character, she is somewhat underdeveloped-perhaps a flaw of having the narrative told from Charlie's perspective.

The movie never fully realizes exactly what it is about Sam that Charlie finds so moving. Alongside Lerman's rendering of the hopeful and bleary-eyed Charlie, Watson's acting falls short.

But even this, albeit significant, flaw can't and won't detract from the beauty of the story. The genius of the film is its ability to render the viewer completely vulnerable so that when Charlie says, "We accept the love we think we deserve," it is life-affirming, even to those of us who have already read the book.
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