What Film Has Had The Biggest Impact On Your Life?
Written by Amy Baudrey
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) is a film that fundamentally changed my life. From a young age, I have felt that I did not fit in. That I was not ‘normal’. Being introduced to this film opened me up to a world of people who were not ‘normal’ and did not fit; the wallflowers. I saw myself reflected in the characters for the first time, and the importance of that cannot be adequately put into words. However, I am going to try my best in this work.
Charlie Kelmeckis, a fifteen year old who has already suffered so much and as such finds it difficult to make friends, and who dreads the idea of high school to the point where he is counting down the days from day one. As someone from England, I may not fully understand the high school experience but I can definitely relate to the fear of change, the terror of leaving friends and the past behind for an entirely new reality. Charlie was the first pull I felt for this film as his first days of high school reminded me so much of my first days of year seven that I found myself unable to pull away. So many small qualities of myself, I saw reflected in Charlie, such as his enjoyment of Patrick’s prank but not wanting to laugh too loud or join in too much that he drew any attention to himself. This representation on screen of a true introvert who felt real and relatable, rather than the weird outcast, has stayed with me ever since, and made me more comfortable in my own skin.
Certain scenes and music choices have to be discussed in the impact of this film, for they truly have stayed with me in life. Arguably the most famous one would be the tunnel scene, backed by the legendary song, Heroes by none other than David Bowie. Although I had heard that song many times before seeing this film, it truly did feel like I was listening to it for the first time, and it was definitely the first time I truly understood the song. The stunning visuals, the amazing soundtrack, and the line ‘We are infinite’ is something that I carry with me as I chase the feeling of that scene everyday. Maybe I’ll never be stood on the back of a truck speeding through a tunnel in the middle of the night, but I certainly have felt infinite before. The worrying feeling that accompanies that though is that this ‘infinity’ is only for the young, and I feel the film captures that very well. Another moment that I often think of is the line ‘We accept the love we think we deserve’. This line follows me throughout my life as every time I see a friend, a colleague, a celebrity, or even a stranger announce a new relationship, this quote comes to mind. It perfectly sums up our relationships with ourselves and others, all in just eight words.
As someone who is an avid enjoyer of both film and books, the realisation that the author had also written the screenplay and directed the film not only assured me that this film was almost guaranteed to be a good adaptation, but also opened my eyes to so many opportunities. People were not just stuck in their lanes. Projects could be developed so much further, and people could achieve so much more than I ever thought possible. This has even inspired personal choices of mine, as I am pursuing a career in film, and I still hold onto my childhood dream of being an author as I can see that both are completely possible. If I one day could do what Stephen Chbosky could and create a film from my own work, I truly would feel that I had made it.
My final point on how this film has impacted me (although I feel I could go on forever), is the friendships and relationships. The friendships shown, especially between Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are so true to life and meaningful, which I feel is really important as so many films have these ‘perfect friendships’ that people yearn for in life but most of the time do not really exist. Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are not perfect, they do not always include each other, they have fights, and they do not stay together. Once again, this was key to me as I had always compared my friendships to those I see on screen and wondered why ours did not reflect what I had seen, but The Perks of Being a Wallflower changed that for me and showed me that real relationships are messy. Nobody is perfect and we should not expect that from reality. Another key relationship in the film to me was between Charlie and his teacher, Mr Anderson. I had my own Mr Anderson in school who was crucial in my enjoyment of school and the subject and it was so nice to see a niche relationship highlighted in this film. So many people have teachers that are so formative in their lives, but go underappreciated, so the films commitment to showing that made me understand and adore this film all the more.
