This film will make you cry. There is simply no other way of putting it; if you’re an ordinary human being with blood pumping through your veins and capable of feeling emotion then it is almost guaranteed that you will walk out of seeing “The Fault in Our Stars” blubbering like a baby. And that is not down to an emotionally manipulative or over-egged screenplay which is the case in many so-called “tear-jerker” movies. “The Fault in Our Stars” is a film that effortlessly gets its audience invested in these characters and their stories, to the point where you’ll have to remind yourself that it’s only a movie.
Based on the popular John Green novel of the same name, “The Fault in Our Stars” follows the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley), a teen coping with terminal cancer who’s bleak outlook on life is challenged when she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) who is a fellow cancer sufferer with an incredibly optimistic attitude to life and takes an immediate liking to Hazel. While at first glance, this premise may appear to be very similar to the traditional and clichéd teen romance formula; they meet, they make googly eyes at each other and they fall in love, however Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s screenplay manages to overcome the unrealistic and worn out clichés that a story of this nature could so easily fall prey to. A big part of this comes from how brilliant the lead characters are. While Hazel and Augustus are a joy to watch when they are together, a key element that needs to be established for engaging romance stories is that the characters must be interesting on their own, regardless of each other and that is what has been achieved here.
Move over Gwen and Peter.
The character of Hazel is one that the audience can immediately sympathise and engage with, and not just because of her disease. She comes across as a genuine teenage girl who has been hardened by cancer and her bleak outlook seems perfectly justified when considering her circumstances. And Shailene Woodley’s brilliant performance sells every aspect of the character. As brilliant a character Hazel is, in my opinion it is Augustus that steals the show here. Such an optimistic character could very easily become annoying yet thanks to some great writing as well as Ansel Elgort’s fantastic performance, he becomes one of the most interesting and likeable characters to come out of film this year. He may be highly optimistic and have a genuinely uplifting presence, yet he still feels real. It is needless to say that the two leads here share some fantastic chemistry and you will have no problem in believing that the pair are head over heels in love with each other.
While the love story is incredibly strong and free of the clichés and short-comings that plague most stories similar to this nature, it is not free of some minor sins, particularly with the dialogue. As strong as the screenplay here is, some audience members will likely take issue with the excessive use of overly whimsical dialogue that can feel a bit unnatural at times. However this is only really a minor issue and given the nature of the characters and story, this kind of dialogue can be to some extent justified and it will hardly ruin the experience. That being said there is one scene around half-way through the film that I did take issue with. While I will not spoil anything this scene does involved a visit to the Anne Frank house and it comes across as a strange and forced attempt by the writers to provoke a sense of sadness from the audience which is just unnecessary as the characters and story we have here are compelling enough to get the audience emotionally involved so the heavy-handed references to such tragic subject matter felt very out-of-place.
Definitely some ones to watch here.
Despite some minor issues with an otherwise brilliant script, the cast are clearly dedicated and never fail to deliver. Of course Woodley and Elgort are the main stars here and rightfully so, yet the supporting cast are just as strong. Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe as well as a variety of others all deliver brilliant performances and their characters go a long way to illustrating the varying perspectives on the disease of cancer which is something this film does so well. It’s not just about the love story, it is just as much about how these characters are dealing with their tragic situations as well as the joy and sadness that stems from this concept.
While there’s nothing ground-breaking about the direction and cinematography here, in fact there are a few odd camera shots throughout the film that may be reflective of Director Josh Boone’s limited experience; yet this is still a brilliantly directed film that brings to life John Green’s novel in great fashion. Throughout the film there are many examples of impressive imagery that go a long way to complimenting that tragedy or joy or whatever emotion the scene was trying to convey.
“The Fault in Our Stars” is not perfect and definitely not for everyone yet it still succeeds in what it sets out to do; it get’s you invested in its incredible storyline and characters and will most likely make you cry out of joy as well as sadness. I personally was very surprised by how good this film was as stories of this nature can so easily fall prey to overused clichés yet “The Fault in Our Stars” has proven to be an exception that not only delivers a strong and compelling love story but also offers a moving and impacting exploration into how cancer changes people’s lives. Even if you think this film is not for you then I still recommend you see it, it may just surprise you.
CG Media 