Perks

Dear friend,

I watched Perks today. I'm so, so, so glad I did. Really good movies are far and few lately, I think. Anyway, I've been excited about the movie ever since I read the book and saw the trailer. The book made me depressed, honestly. I cried buckets in various chapters of the book (which made me self-conscious because other people who've read the book said that they were inspired and uplifted) and felt a certain heaviness after I finished reading. I kind of expected that I'd be depressed over the movie too but strangely enough, it didn't. The film was...poignant. There's a sadness there that was just too massive for words, but then there was also a kind of happiness that pervaded in the entire film. It was happy and sad. Just like how Charlie said...

"So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."

So here I am being a complete fangirl over Perks. I liked the book, but the movie just made me like Perks even more. Here are some reasons why I actually made a fist pump when the movie finished:

The film's screenplay was written by the novel's author, Stephen Chbosky. The film was also directed by the author. Because the movie was written and directed by the novelist, he had complete control of how the film looked like. He knew each of the characters inside out and he rewrote the novel into a screenplay that had all the important elements that were needed. The book was truly brought to life. I think that's amazing.

I liked the cast. I thought that Logan Lerman was perfect as Charlie. He was so endearingly awkward. I could finally understand why Charlie the wallflower managed to find himself in the midst of friends who love him dearly. Logan is a great actor. I can totally see him win awards in the future. Ezra Miller was amazing as Patrick, I can't imagine anyone else who could play that sassy character. It fit him like a glove. I also liked Mae Whitman, who played Mary Elizabeth. I never thought much of the character she played while I was reading the book but in the movie she had so much more personality and was one of the sources of humor in the film. Finally, I liked Emma Watson as Sam. I think her acting has vastly improved and has veered far, far away from Hermione Granger. She was able to fulfill the idea of Sam, which from Charlie's perspective, was far from perfect but perfect nonetheless. I'm so glad the cast were good actors.

I liked that it made me cry. Weird, I suppose, but true. I guess I can relate to all the characters in different ways.

I liked the ending scene. I loved the last bit of script with Charlie talking. The way it was written....ugh, it was perfect. It kind of made you feel infinite, even though you're just confined in your seat.

After all the blabbering I've done, the point I'm trying to get at is that Perks is a movie that I'm glad exists. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of it so I can watch it anytime I want. I guess that's all I really want to say.

Love always,

Isa