The first movie I will review for this film critique is The Perks of Being a Wallflower, directed by Stephen Chbosky and based on a novel. In the movie, we see the main character, Charlie play the role of a introverted and shy high school freshman teenager. During the first half of the movie, the viewers are aware that Charlie has recently lost his best friend to suicide whom he loved so much. This loss has led to a struggle with coping with his feelings of isolation and loneliness. During the beginning of the school year, Charlie makes friends with two seniors, Patrick and Sam. These two friends slowly began pulling him out of his shell by opening a door to new experiences.
Throughout this movie, Charlie narrates his experiences through letters he writes to someone anonymous. Charlie is seen navigating his way through high school by dealing with many issues such as love, mental health, drugs, and sexuality. He begins to be more involved day by day with his two new friends. At the end of his school year, Charlie’s mental health breaks down and we see him having flashbacks of his past childhood trauma (that is not revealed until the end of the movie). His English teacher notices Charlie acting different than other students so he grows closer to him and encourages him to
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It carefully demonstrated the complexity of each condition and how it can negatively affect an individual’s life. For example, Charlie’s depression was shown through very sad and deep scenes which is a very consistent symptom of depression. Whereas, his PTSD symptoms included flashbacks and panic attacks which are also realistic to that illness. Overall, I feel like no movie or short clip can accurately represent diverse experiences of individuals who are living with similar conditions; however, The Perks of Being a Wallflower presented a thoughtful portrayal of these mental health