The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Movie Review

Charlie is an American teen entering his first year of high school ... and he's scared!

Charlie is an American teen entering his first year of high school ... and he's scared!

He’s preparing himself for a rough ride given his best friend is no longer on the scene, his older sister doesn’t want to know him and he’s not the most outgoing of personalities. However Charlie is saved from his future as a 'wallflower' by two seniors, Patrick and Sam, who take an interest in this quiet boy. They are outsiders who have created their own inside. Patrick is gay; Sam is a girl living down a ‘reputation’. But together the three and a few extra friends provide a safe place to be different.

“Welcome to the island of lost toys” Sam tells Charlie, and he realises he is finally home. From this place of comfort, the movie then goes on to show the pain lying at the heart of each character. Patrick is tortured by a boy who won’t admit to being his friend; Sam is escaping a less than ideal home life and Charlie suffers from mental illness with deep roots in his past.

It's not easy being a teen

Sometimes as a teen, you can feel both lost and found, confused and hopeful at the same time, and when pain comes into your life, it can really hit you hard. In the movie, Charlie asks his English teacher a question, and gets a sad truth in return:

Charlie: Why do nice people date people that are no good for them?
Mr Callahan: We accept the love we think we deserve.

Often, the lower your sense of personal value, the more likely you will indulge in behaviour you hope will win approval, and the less likely you will think that someone could love you.

Charlie, Patrick and Sam end up supporting each other through their tough times - they become a collection of broken pieces that form a healthy whole. However, not every teen finds those sorts of friends. In fact, many will still be searching well into their twenties, thirties and upwards.

Christianity, though, offers the one sure harbour. Jesus told his audiences the stories of The Prodigal Son, The Pharisee and the Tax Collector and The Good Shepherd to teach us at the very least that God love us far more than we understand.

Charlie finishes the film by offering up a piece of advice he learnt from a counselor: