The Fault in Our Stars - Review

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At the beginning of the film, the narrator Hazel tells us that this tale is the real 'truth' - no sugarcoating and no bad situation that can simply 'be fixed by a Peter Gabriel song'. However, The Fault in Our Stars (based on the best-selling novel by John Green) fails to back this claim up as it often falls victims to the tropes it attempts to set itself apart from. There are still the 'long gazes at each other from the across the room'. The 'dazzling first kiss' in a public area (that for some reason gains applause - am I the only one who would roll my eyes and awkwardly move away?). The 'constant waiting for him/her to call them'. Luckily, the film does deploys enough of the wit and genuine emotion of the source material to avoid sinking too far into being a generic teen romance and is strengthed further by its generally stellar cast.


Fault focuses around Hazel (Shailene Woodley), a sharp-witted teenager suffering from terminal cancer (who quite literally must always carry the burden of her disease, in the form of an oxygen bottle and nose plugholes to assist her lungs) who when forced to attend a support group for other sufferers meets a cancer-free survivor (with a prosthetic leg to prove it), Gus, who has all the grandeur of a character from a Shakespeare play and is partial to using large, fancy words. The two fall into a passionate romance intending to make the most of the little time they have together.

Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (also behind teen romance The Spectacular Now, a considerably stronger teen romance), rarely deviate from Green's text and confront the potentially exploitful themes with honesty and humour though much of its nuance in lost in the conversion from page to screen. Director, Josh Boone squeezes the maximum emotion from every scene which does create a sufficiently tearjerking film but it leaves no room for subtlety, particularly with the syrupy soundtrack (loaded with generic pop-rock songs) underscoring most of the pivotal moments and robbing them of the emotion that Green's original book provides. 

However, this is not to say the film completely leaves behind the truthful displays of heartbreak that the book illustrates. Most importantly, the leading duo impress - Woodley is superb as Hazel, particularly in the harrowing climax to the film and her performance transcends some of the more sappy scenes. While Augustus remains the male equivalent of the 'manic pixie dream girl', Elgort breathes some life into the character and manages to deliver Gus' speeches about 'oblivion' and what-not whilst still coming across believably. The sharp banter between the two characters is natural on-screen and they have great chemistry, a vital element that if absent would cause the film to crumble.

The supporting cast also find time to shine, particularly Laura Dern as Hazel's mother, who takes a relatively small role and creates a complex and heartfelt character that can only be hinted to in Green's book. Her emotional confrontation with Hazel towards the end of the film is a real highlight and a rare scene that emulates and improves on its book counterpart. Also excellent is Willem Dafoe as Hazel's writing idol, Peter van Houten, who has devolved to drinking and is far from the wise figure she'd hoped he'd be. This displays the extreme negative of how cancer can affect a person and their family and it is a shame his role is so brief.

On the whole, The Fault in Our Stars succeeds as an adaption of the teenage hit and as a real tearjerker, though without quite reaching the heights of the beloved source material. It tells us that these people are no less than those without illness and develops characters that don't 'sugarcoat' the mortality that they must face, though sadly the film itself succumbs to the usual romance tropes rather than truly digging into these realities.

3 - 3.5 / 5 Stars (I'm indecisive okay)

Ramblings (Many spoilers featured)

• As mentioned above, Hazel and her mother's confrontation of what will happen when she dies is a favourite scene of mine though Hazel's pre-eulogy to Gus was a beautiful moment, played stunningly by Woodley. 
• I was a bit disappointed that Hazel's friend from the book, Kaitlyn, was cut. It served as a reminder of what Hazel's life was before her condition and shows that she does have some friendship before Augustus and Isaac, so it seemed a bit of a shame to leave her out.
• Isaac (Nat Wolff) was a really great and funny character on screen too. His freak outs while Hazel and Gus talked were hilarious and Wolff really nailed the part.
• Hazel's narrations didn't quite work for me. They came across more as quote bait rather than the window into her thoughts that the book presented.
• I find it rather funny that Woodley and Elgort must have recently acted as siblings in Divergent, before having to become intimate and in love for this xD

Thanks for reading guys and please leave a comment below of your thoughts on the film! Do you agree or disagree? :)