Perks of Being a Wallflower Movie Review

1. What are the different dilemmas Charlie (main character) experienced in the movie?

 Charlie, the main character of the movie, shows symptoms of PTSD also known as Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. He acquired this type of mental illness way back when he was a seven year old kid- when his Aunt
Helen got herself killed in a car crash on the day of his seventh birthday. A car crash where he blames no one but
himself. He also suffers from depression. The incident that triggered his depression was the abuse and
molestation of his Aunt. He would often have blackouts and faint every time he is reminded of this situation or
every time that incident flashbacks in his mind. These incidents traumatized him and he brought the trauma
from the abuse and guilt from the car crash incident up till his freshman year. He somehow also suffers from
Social Anxiety wherein he finds it hard to socialize and gain a sense of belonging to people. He thinks that the
people around him would negatively judge him. He also became extremely lonely. He finds it harder to socialize
not only because it is the start of his freshman year but also because of his only friend way back from middle
school named Michael who committed suicide with an unknown reason last spring just before the school year
starts.

2. Did he make the right choices in coping with those problems? Yes or No? Explain.

 I would say the choices he made were right. He got himself friends that helped him cope with his illnesses and
he is very lucky to have such. He found himself friends who he can associate with and who he can be genuine
with. Friends who will help him get out of his comfort zone and step outside of his box. Even though these
choices led to problems where he experienced emotional distress and more blackouts and the likes, still, these
friends were also the answer. They went back to zero and helped him rise up again little by little. Step by step
they slowly overcame the obstacles in their life. Charlie also helped himself by coming to terms with the
traumatic incidents that happened in the past. This resulted in accepting himself as whom he is. Charlie’s
doesn’t have a choice to redo or change the past anymore but he made a choice to choose where he goes from
there. His choice of letting go of the past and continuing his new journey, or adventure rather, in the present
along with his pals up till the future made Charlie and the people around him a better version of themselves.

3. How was this resolved in the movie?

 His mental instability would not be cured or solved if he was all alone. All throughout the ending of the movie he
wrote these letters to an anonymous person where he expressed and let out all of his thoughts. By the end of
the movie, you can see the character development of Charlie where he decided to stop writing these letters and
started living his life. Though reading and writing helped Charlie discover and figure out his identity, having
someone to share your insights and excitements in life is just different. In the movie, he met great friends
namely Sam and her step brother Patrick. The siblings first approached Charlie in a football game where Patrick
recognized him as a student from his workshop class. That’s where the amazing friendship of the trio started.
They helped him socialize and meet new friends, the three shared fantastic moments and found a bond, they
went through a tunnel playing the perfect song at the perfect moment. There Charlie found a sense of
belonging. There, the Trio felt infinite and found the love they deserved.