READ THIS IF YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY #3

♥

Hey Zengarmy,


The cover photo is kind of a shocker, I know. But please stay calm.
This is the 3rd post of my "Read This If You're Having A Bad Day" series,
which, if you're interested to read the previous 2 posts, I'll link them here:



 READ THIS IF YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY #1 
 READ THIS IF YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY #2 



( the link opens up in new tab, so don't worry about that )

So, I've just watched the movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower",
(I watched the movie twice yesterday. I'm currently watching it now!)
& I couldn't help but to urge those of you who haven't watched the movie
yet to please go watch it! I personally didn't get to watch the movie during
its release in 2012 (I was still in my hometown then, which has no cinema),
but I've heard a lot of reviews about this movie. Some say it's another sadistic
teenager-based mediocre movie. Some say it is a highly relatable movie to all
the high school kids going through hard times. And me? I think this movie is
hands down one of the BEST MOVIE I'VE EVER WATCHED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!



And if you're wondering, YES, this movie is about the story of a depressed kid
going through high school life wanting to be "normal again" and make friends,
which I can pretty much relate to, at 90 percent on the full scale of 0 to 100.
And, OBVIOUSLY this movie is not JUST about depression. It has a lot more to
what the movie title promised (I know, the movie title sounds like a rip off).
If you have the time, I would highly suggest you to read the original novel.

Just to make sure that you'll REALLY WATCH THIS MOVIE,
I'll leave the link to the site where I watched this movie from :
 www.123movies.to/film/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-3697 

PS : This movie is adapted from a novel, which I haven't got the chance
to read it yet, but I'm going to read the novel later so don't you worry!!
And apparently the book (according to critics) is better than the movie,
so if you're not into movies then please please please read the novel!



I know the title of the movie sounds mediocre/generic,
BUT WAIT UNTIL YOU WATCHED THE MOVIE/READ THE NOVEL.



Here's the movie synopsis that I've stolen from iMDb, hahah :

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is another story about a simple guy living
in a cruel life of high school. The difference is he's not ought to save the day,
wants to lose his virginity, seeking to be popular, or revenge on his bullies.
The story is about a shy kid who wants to get along with people and can't
wait to leave high school. Behind it is the genuine pain and emotion of the
characters which makes it more than just another story about teenagers.



Stephen Chbosky tells his own story on screen pretty well and the
performances are quite excellent. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
is often heartbreaking, charming, and wonderful.



Charlie is palpably just another teenage protagonist,
but he is not one of those who tries to prove everyone who mistreated him wrong.
His goal is to get away from being anti-social and be like anyone else in high school.



We may have heard a story like this before,
but what makes this one extraordinary is when it
mostly depicts the darkest aspects of their lives.
Expressing the most heartbreaking truths about these teenagers.
Knowing their problems easily makes it reasonable for us to care about them.
The romance is rather credibly lovely than a mainstream claptrap.
In the joyous moments, it's pretty delightful and plays a quite nostalgic soundtrack.



The film gives the actors some nuance.
This is probably a good thing for Logan Lerman.
He usually plays the simple charming guy in movies.
Since he's good at those, he adds some credibility to Charlie.
Emma Watson is likable enough as Sam. The best among the three is Ezra Miller.
One might hams it up for Patrick, but Miller gave the character a genuinely wonderful personality.
The director and author, Stephen Chbosky, didn't try anything else than to bring his book to life.
He tells it straightforward on screen with plenty of strong, effective emotions.
The cinematography is bright and beautiful enough. The tunnel scene has the best shots. 
While the soundtrack is too conspicuous, the music score is noticeably melancholic.



 The Perks of Being a Wallflower is best 
 if you can actually relate to the lead 
 character or have experienced the 
 struggles of being an adolescent. 



When it's not depressing, the film goes to those blissful moments
that make us remember the good times in high school.
Overall, it's a great film. It's a film adaptation that replaces
the cliché mainstream swagger with some painful realities and
simply let the audience understand the whole point of it. 
In the end, it's quite a remarkable film.

After watching this movie I felt a bizzare sensation of both sadness & relief :
Sad because of how much Charlie (the main character played by Logan Lerman)
has to SUFFER from and how ALONE he was all of the time because of his fear of
trusting other people again, & relief because Charlie did NOT choose to end his
life and succumb to his traumatic depression. Instead, he chose to fight with it.



And he won.

This is hands down my favorite favorite favorite scene from the movie.
If there's one thing you can learn from this movie, let it be this quote :


(the following quote is from the book, Charlie is writing to his imaginary friend)

I don't know if I will have the time to write any more
letters because I might be too busy trying to participate.
So if this does end up being the last letter, I just want you to know
that I was in a bad place before I started high school, and you helped me.
Even if you didn't know what I was talking about or know someone who's gone through it, 
you made me not feel alone. Because I know there are people who say all these things 
don't happen. And there are people who forget what it's like to be 16 when they turn 17.
I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs.
We'll all become somebody's mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories.
This is happening. I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful.
I can see it. This one moment when you know you're not a sad story.
You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings
and everything that makes you wonder. And you're listening to that song
and that drive with the people you love most in this world.


And in this moment I swear, we are infinite.

This might not mean ANYTHING to you if you haven't watched the movie or
read the novel yet, but oh my OH MY, I cried so hard during this last scene!

Wallflower is essentially a name for all the loners & introverts whom are
always ignored & easily forgotten by other people. I am a wallflower.
And I am PROUD to be a wallflower. And if you're a wallflower too,
I want you to know that you're NOT THE ONLY ONE.

"Why be the same as everyone else
when you CAN be DIFFERENT?"

I was originally quite confused during the scenes when Charlie types
letters to another person who has no identity at all. But then as I later
did my research on Google, I found out that in the original novel, the
style of the narrating is in the sense that Charlie was writing letters to
his imaginary friend because he has hardly no any friends in real life.
To put it simpler, WE are the imaginary friends of Charlie and the novel
is Charlie's diary! The end of the novel simply means that Charlie has
stepped out of his traumatic depression and decided to "participate"
in his real life where he has REAL friends and people who love him.

This is seriously one of the best movie that depicts depression in such a

deep & heartfelt way. I'm sure the novel is going to be even more detailed

and I can't wait to start reading it!!! If you yourself are a depression sufferer

like me, I'm sure you'll be able to appreciate the story in this movie as much

as I do. And even if you're not a depression sufferer, this movie is a great way

for you to understand what it's like to be in depression. Please find some time

to watch this movie or read the novel. And, prepare tissues if you're a crybaby.

Before I end this post, I wish to remind you that depression is a very common

mental disease. Depression sufferers do not wish upon themselves to be depressed,

so PLEASE do not avoid making friends with them just because you're WORRIED that

they might somehow make you depressed too. In fact, most of us have depression,

it's just that different people have different degrees of depression, and some people

are extremely capable of disguising their depression. I want you to know that being

depressed is NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. I want you to know that my life was a

complete mess of crying in my bed at late night & faking smiles in the morning,

but now I often wake up feeling excited for my future because I knew I GOT THIS.

I want you to know that feeling sad is normal, but please don't forget to be happy.

I want you to know that even though it takes time to heal your wound, eventually

TIME DOES HEAL YOUR WOUND. Whatever shits you are going through right now,

there are millions of other people going through the same thing. You are not alone.

And I want you to know that

you too, can finally be happy

again, after walking through

that dark tunnel & realize that

all you've been through helped

in making you a tougher person.

PS : This is the "tunnel song" played in the movie ;)



♥

        

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