An inexplicable dread filled me when I entered the cinema to watch this one. It may have had something to do with the faux Indie premise or the prospect of an angsty teenage film but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Logan Lerman is charming as the shy, socially awkward Charlie, the hero of the film who holds a deep unrequited love for Sam (Emma Watson). The story is about growing up and about the contradictions of our later teenage years as well as those mistakes that we all make in our initial romantic stumblings.
What follows is a tale of deep poignancy as Sam and Charlie feel they way around through one failed relationship to another, never quite crossing one another at the right time. What binds them both is a shared past that neither realise until late in the tale.
Around these two are the rest of the group - the charismatic Patrick (Ezra Miller) whose extreme flamboyance hides a sensitive inner self. Mae Whitman plays Mary-Elizabeth, Charlie's girlfriend, who seems destined for great things but is yet to realise her potential. All roads lead to the Ivy League for these bright young things but none of them have sufficient control over their personal lives for comfort.
In this no man's land, a strange bipolar mix of delight and sadness compete from scene to scene which encapsulates the elusiveness of those short teenage years.
However, much like this review, the film is prone to moments of pretention. Too many Smith's tracks for my liking and too much self-involved teenage angst.
Nonetheless, worth a watch for its interesting message about the perils of growing up.
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