For everything I’m about to say, let’s just imagine Ezra Miller tucked into a little corner, far away from everything. Is he put away? Hidden in the shadows? Great! Excluding Miller – who does give a great performance if we can mentally separate things – it’s easy to talk about Perks as essential coming-of-age cinema. Based on Stephen Chbosky’s YA novel, and adapted by Chbosky himself, this flick has everything: loner befriending cool alt-kids; experimenting with sexual orientation; confronting long-buried trauma; yearning; and post-Harry Potter Emma Watson. It’s guaranteed to inspire late-night tunnel drives, with requisite David Bowie blasting from the stereo. – Cat McCarrey
Jan. 11-13
