Saturday, December 01, 2012
I've been lucky to have had a good run of films across the last few weeks. This film saddened me! But it was really good. Enjoy, and remember to share if you like it :)
The Perks Of Being A
Wallflower (M)
NO matter what era adolescents face, being a teenager
sometimes sucks. Not all the time if you have friends who ‘get’ you, but there
are always bad days. However, many are in worse situations, finding themselves
at the lowest of points because they don’t have that particular support.
Teens at life’s lowest point often arrive at that stage
because of things like social awkwardness, or general repression from
experiencing a traumatic event during childhood. Charlie’s (Logan Lerman) issue
with both hasn’t worked in his favour before his transition from middle school
to high school.
Not wanting to only make friends with awesome English
teacher Mr Robinson (Paul Rudd), Charlie digs deep and approaches Patrick (Ezra
Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson). To his surprise, Charlie’s burgeoning friendship
with the duo extends to their group of misfits.
It’s not so different from the late 80s-early 90s era to now
in that teenagers so desperately want to be different. They wish everyone had as
good a taste in music as them, they’ve done a few things they may regret and in
the end just want to feel free.
The freedom Charlie craves surrounds the guilt over the
death of his aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey) and through this story he struggles. Charlie faces the things most teenage boys do – crushes,
unrequited love and self-uncertainty, and it’s awkward as he tries to push past
his naivety and develop through his adolescence.
Stephen Chbosky, writing and directing the adaptation of his 1999 novel, retains that awkwardness well. The script is exaggerated and full of curiosity for Charlie, Sam and Patrick as they try to figure out where they fit in within the food chains of school and life. Chbosky weaves a tale about concerns for the future, homosexuality in a less accepting time and characters with more to them than meets the eye. It’s not something we haven’t seen before but definitely keeps its own wits about it.
Best appreciated by those knowledgeable of the likes of
Dexy’s Midnight Runners and David Bowie, the soundtrack is a large carrier for
the story. It’s an effective form of escape for Charlie and his friends, and
provides a healthy dose of nostalgia for us watching. Chbosky uses that nostalgia for lighter moments before daily
life begins to weigh heavier on Charlie’s shoulders. The film switches between
Charlie’s happier days and saddening flashbacks regarding his aunt like mood
swings, making the film increasingly sad.
The supporting cast is smartly chosen in appealing to
television fans with the likes of Kate Walsh (Private Practice) and Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries), and they all remain above high water to help
deliver a story emotionally challenging and rewarding. Miller and Watson are melodramatic as Patrick and Sam;
Watson not yet losing the sly grin the world came to love in the Harry Potter films. Lerman plays a
helplessly confused boy with integrity, Charlie doing all he can to just be a
normal kid.
Chbosky’s soft touch with the camerawork and his heartfelt
story make the film one not so predictable; something to saviour for the young
(and young at heart) generation.
Rating: 4/5*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 1/12/2012
***
The Seventh Seal (1954)
Ten of Swede Ingmar Bergman’s
films are in the 5th edition of 1001
Movies You Must See Before You Die, the book on which the choices for this
column are based. A master of European cinema, his works talk of life and its
questions, asking for truth to what should be believed.
Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) has
returned home with Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand) from their service as knights in
the Holy Land crusade when Death arrives. Antonius, not knowing enough to have
faith and believe in a higher order, challenges Death to a game of chess to
stall his life’s end.
Drawn out in between Death’s other
reapings, Antonius has time to seek answers by visiting churches and closely
observing life and its minute happenings. Antonius and Jons meet travelling acrobats Jof
(Nils Poppe) and Mia (Bibi Andersson) along the way, and the four travel
together through dangerous woods to avoid the Black Plague spreading along
coastal areas.
Bergman shines a light on what is
otherwise a gloomy world through von Sydow, whose Antonius is hopeful and
protective of those around him as his life comes to an end. His answers come in
the way they don’t expect – an appreciation of surroundings is painted as most
important to overshadow what we fear. An eerie use of music adds to a constant
uncertainty as the story unfolds, unsettling but ultimately vital.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) on Wednesday 28/11/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Skyfall.
0 Comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
