The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I recently watched “The Perks of being a Wallflower”. Though I don’t usually watch movie adaptations, without first reading the books, I know I can’t read every book that was adapted into a movie. So I decided to shed my useless ego and watch the movie.

First, I liked Emma Watson’s look in the movie. Free spirited, smiling girl. With short hair.

But the movie was more than pretty faces.

From sexual abuse, to introversion and deaths, the story speaks of stuff that any teenager can easily relate to.

And yes, bad relationship decisions too.

Thing is, a lot of movies nowadays, cover all these topics. But, this wasn’t just another story.

The protagonist, Charlie, is an introvert. The story begins with him writing a journal entry about his fears for the following day, his first day of high school.

Personally, I could relate to this character unlike, any movie I’ve seen before. (And yes, I’m selective when it comes to movies) An introvert, he makes his action plan for the next day, but as all plans go, he was flunked.

That’s when I felt like shouting, “That is so me.”

At the end of his first day, Charlie is left with one friend. Which, his English teacher thinks, is good for starters.

“If my English teacher is the only friend I make today, that’ll be sorta depressing.”

Then come his friends. Patrick and Sam. Step-siblings. And seniors.

Those two, reflect simplicity. Their love for old songs, and the way Sam enjoys tunnel rides, all of that will bring a smile on to your lips. If it didn’t, well you need to loosen up a bit.

All seems fine, until Charlie realizes his feelings for Sam (Sam’s a girl (FYI)). Yet again, he does something realistic, he ignores it. He wants Sam to be happy, but he also knows that she has chosen the wrong person.

The English teacher Mr Anderson is a perfect embodiment of a great teacher. He lends Charlie books to read, and does give away some brilliant relationship advice,

“Because we accept the love we think we deserve.”

We, as an audience, are constantly surprised at the depth of the characters. Patrick, shows that he is capable of some deep thoughts as well.

“Why can’t we save anybody?”

This is probably one of the most relatable quotes of the movie. We’d have all had the same thought at one point of time. I know I did.

And though it might sound trivial, the situation is not.

This movie is full of wonderful dialogues. Even though I can’t tolerate romance, I’m wondering if I should read that book, only for the dialogues.

“You see; you understand, you’re a wallflower” – Patrick

They were that good.

“It’s all about you… and a little bit about me too”

Julian Assange and Benedict Cumberbatch keep popping up inside my head every now and then.

Of course, I’m talking about ‘The Fifth Estate’ the 2013 movie based on WikiLeaks’ and Julian’s rise of fame on the internet.

To be honest, when WikiLeaks began to rise to the peaks leaking highly confidential information that seriously jeopardized the US government (See? The effect still hasn’t gone off!) I was genuinely interested. Just like so many others. Then, like most people, the matter faded away. Last I heard of Julian Assange, he was arrested and there were protests worldwide demanding his release.

Fast forward a three years. I grew up, (What a pity!) and a couple of months earlier I began to be crazily interested in BBC’s Sherlock TV series. I watched all three seasons in a hurry. When I was looking for more, I found ‘The Fifth Estate.’

It brought back so many old memories. I did some digging. Went back to the website after ages, and came across an article that said something about a “letter.” From Julian Assange to Benedict Cumberbatch.

I so wanted to read that letter. It was on the WikiLeaks website. Unedited, as always.

Long letter short: Julian wasn’t happy about the movie idea. He said the script was based on two books, which told the untruth. He tried to convince Benedict to step away from the project.

I must say, there was so much conviction in that letter that I was surprised that Benedict didn’t walk away.

So that was the reason, I knew I should watch the movie. The movie that, despite Julian claiming said all lies about him and his employees at WikiLeaks, came out and — I guess — ran successful.

After Sherlock, I became a Benedict fan. I watched the movie, partly for him. And I wasn’t disappointed. Great acting, not to mention the dialogues.

I’d say the movie was quite posed neutrally, in such a way that in the end, you neither hate nor like Assange. But the final few scenes did show him a little negatively.

A Journey Within… on the Highway

I think we made a huge mistake going for the movie. It made me ache in places I didn’t know I had. “A journey within” was the caption. I should have expected it.It was a really deep journey. Particularly the last 45 minutes, with a deep message — a social one (obviously!) but told in a subtly pricking way.

The locations were amazing. The music — needless to say, a A.R. Rahman musical. But there was something else — something that made me feel like I’m missing out on something in life. Obvious, you might think. Because it is. I am missing the liveliness of Nature. And watching Alia Bhatt reminded me a bit of a nomad’s life. Perhaps it was the icy mountains that added to the coldness that the movie ended with.

Later, when I was back home trying hard to not visualize the scenes in front of my eyes, something quite unexpected happened. Every programme on tv, and everything I spoke of with my room mates, reminded me of the movie. I simply couldn’t get it out of my mind. Even now, as I’m typing out this piece, first thing in the morning, I am listening to the songs. It seems like I can’t get over it, like trying to give up after multiple attempts at an unrequited love interest.

The greatest thing about the movie was that it was a love story, but not a love story too. It’s not one that we’re used to in Indian cinema. I know we’ve heard that comment too many times to know better than to believe it, but really, for me, this was so different.

Here’s what I found out: everyone who watches that movie can find themselves relating to the characters at least once. And I don’t just mean the girls.

From what I could deduce from my fellow audience in the theatre, almost all of them had that glum feeling of being stuck in reality, and not being able to make that one journey within, the journey that could change our lives.

Even I, who can’t understand a word of Hindi, was moved by the movie. This movie will reach heights. It might not make a blockbuster hit, and make it rain dollars, but it will touch the people. And that’s what makes “Highway” a successful journey.

Tuesdays with Morrie

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they think they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

A long time ago, I just happened to come across a movie titled, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’. The title seemed interesting and so I decided to watch it. I should say I was not disappointed at all. The entire movie was filled with such serenity that simple words cannot express.

When I learned that the movie was adopted from a book, I made it my priority to read that book. After a long time I finished reading the book on a train journey. It left me with an inner peace that I find difficult to discern.

About the book – it’s based on a true incident in the author’s life. It’s about the author, Mitch Albom, who, after hearing about his favourite professor’s fatal illness, visits his professor sixteen years after his graduation.

After the first visit, Mitch is convinced that he wants to visit the dying professor every week. Being Tuesday people – as his professor called it – Mitch visits his professor Morrie, every Tuesday with a handful of food parcels.

Each Tuesday, Mitch learns something new about living a meaningful life. Morrie speaks of his love for living. He helps Mitch understand the purpose of life and wants his words to educate more people who need a loving voice of comfort. Morrie is one who does not give in to the society that chases happiness without realizing that it could be found within. He has built himself a sub-society where no one is inferior and everyone is on the lookout for the other. Morrie and Mitch talk about everything that seems to torment the present generation and Morrie always has something valuable to offer.

The author has done a great job of describing Morrie’s decreasing health condition. The style in which the author has narrated the story touches every heart. You can’t help but appreciate Morrie and wish you had had a teacher like that. That’s where Mitch Albom succeeds.

Mischief not managed

I’ve watched the movie yet again – I’ve lost count as to how many times I’ve watched it, but it, as always, leaves me hollow, pained and angry.

It really is surprising how an unknown actor, after a mind-blowing performance as your favourite fantasy character, can suddenly become an inspiration; an idol. That’s exactly what happened with Gary Oldman. I didn’t know about him before Batman and Harry Potter. Having been lucky enough to read the books before watching the movies, easily my favourite character was Sirius Black. Of all the stories I’ve read post Harry Potter, I can still confidently say Sirius is my favourite. I’m not joking; I’m totally Sirius!

The moment I read the episode of Sirius’ death, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t ever watch the movie. The book and the words haunted me and I knew the movie wouldn’t be better. It proved worse. A few months later I, just like every other fool, thought I was ready to see the movie at last. I needed some time after the book and I indeed took it. Only, my calculations of being mature enough to handle it, were pathetic.

After his appearance in the 3rd movie, Gary had really made a mark on me. I was enjoying that moment when you realize that an actor did total justice to the character himself. Yes, I did enjoy the feeling. Having expected to see Gary as Sirius in the fourth movie, I was terribly disappointed. But no matter, I told myself, I’ll be soon watching part 5 and I’d see Sirius again. By this time, he felt like family.

When I did see him, I was utterly awed. He looked nothing less than handsome. What I liked most about Sirius is the fact that he turned a blind eye towards others’ view of himself. He wore decent robes and looked decent but underneath all those niceties that mischief and spark in the eye were still intact, unscathed. And I felt Gary had incorporated every cell of Sirius’s non-existent body into his own, and I adore him for it.

When I finally got round to watch the 5th movie, I honestly believed that I was prepared, despite knowing that it would be difficult to witness. I was mistaken. It wasn’t difficult; it was heart breaking. Every time I saw Harry and Sirius in the same frame (which wasn’t many) I could feel the powerful rush of emotion in my veins.

The movie being well poised, when the sad part came, I was first moved and then infuriated, which I feel even to this day. The movie had an extra piece of exchange between Harry and Sirius moments before Sirius’ death. When Harry artfully disarmed Lucius Malfoy, Sirius appreciated him, “Nice one James”. Those were his last words.

Sirius addressed Harry as James; Harry’s father and Sirius’ best friend. Sirius saw James in Harry while Harry saw his godfather as the closest he felt to a father. The brief relationship between them is one of the most beautiful relationships in the story. Sirius’ last words made my insides squirm. The old friendship story between James, Sirius and Remus ran amok in my head.

In less than a minute after this came Sirius’ death. That was irritating. Very.

Just after a wonderful scene from his own imagination, the director and the crew, did ultimate injustice to Sirius’ death. I’ve already mentioned (more than once, I think!) that Sirius is my favourite. Insulting his death got my blood boiling.

As far as I know, Sirius was never hit by a Killing Curse. It was another spell that threw him off-balance, right through the veil.The movie didn’t show it that way though. They seemed to think that a killing curse would’ve been interesting. So they made it that Bellatrix had cast a killing curse, thus killing him even before his body floated through the veil.

Sirius was not such a fool to let his wand-arm hang loosely by his side and catch a killing curse squarely on his chest, and I feel the movie had been filmed so. Watching it, with the knowledge that it shouldn’t have been that way, felt like Sirius’ character was incomplete.

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this: