Little Fault with These Stars!!!! Big Screen
Adaptation of John Green’s Acclaimed Novel Delivers Solid “Feels” and Great
Performances!!!
By: Brandon Porter
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| This is the story...of their little infinite. |
Story
Life
as a teenager is a very tough road. It’s even tougher when you’re a teenager
living with a severe case of terminal cancer. With an oxygen tank as her only
companion, Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is living with her illness
one day at a time. When her mother attempts to get her out of her shell by
signing her up in a support group for cancer patients, Hazel’s meets Augustus
Waters (Ansel Elgort), a former basketball player whose cancer caused him to
lose his leg. Soon, the two of them begin a life changing relationship that
will challenge them physically, emotionally, and spiritually and discover that
life doesn’t have to be perfect to be extraordinary.
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| Hazel and Augustus enjoy a romantic dinner in Amsterdam. |
Analysis
Serving as the second
big screen novel adaptation for Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley, The Fault in
Our Stars seemed to generate more hype than the duos previous film Divergent. With
all the high expectations surrounding it, the film still managed to live up to
it. The film garnered a solid 82% certified fresh rating via rotten tomatoes
and took number one at the box office with overall average of $65,292,000
million. Critics sang their praises of the film as well. Matthew Pejkovic of
Matt's Movie Reviews commented that, "while The Fault in Our Stars can be
overbearingly schlocky at times, it is also an emotionally heartfelt film,
especially in regards to the central romance that is sure to make the target
audience swoon". Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers stated that the film was a
"fresh, lively love story, brimming with humor and heartbreak" while
praising Woodley’s performance as Hazel. Critics and fans unanimously agreed
that The Fault in Our Stars is a solidly done film that captures the emotion
and magic that has made the book a must read and the film a must see.
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| Who says cancer-patients can't live life on the edge. |
Review
Granted,
I never read John Green’s novel “The Fault in Our Stars”. But I heard enough
about it and read fans insight to know this was a film I had to pay attention
to. Granted the story was intriguing enough and the actors were likable enough
to me to the point where I was able to be able to give the film a chance. With
all the hype on it and going in having not read the book, I’m happy to say the
film still delivered strong. The movie was a very refreshing break from the
super hero sci-fi popcorn fest that has occurred so far in this summer movie
season. Given how difficult adapting a novel into a film is, The movie captures
the book’s essence well enough to where people who haven’t read the novel can
still be invested in the story. This is one reason why I enjoyed the film as
much as I did. Acting wise, the film was as solid as I hoped it would be.
Shailene Woodley is at her best in her role as Hazel. Her acting has come a
long way and you can clearly see she is invested in her performance being she
is an avid fan of the novel herself. She definitely shows signs of true
greatness as her career continues to skyrocket. Ansel Elgort however, is one of
the film’s biggest bright spots. The guy is damn near impossible not to like in
this film. He displays a bright personality, undeniable charm, and terrific depth
that I sometimes thought he wasn’t playing his character and was actually being
himself. But Ansel plays the role wonderfully and established himself as a must
watch Hollywood star. Chemistry was another plus in this movie. The camaraderie
between Ansel and Shailene is as strong as you can imagine. They feed off each
other’s strengths and make a great one two punch throughout the film. A
constant warning that fans and moviegoers have said is that the film is very
emotional and will make you cry. Granted, I did not cry, but that didn’t mean
that the scenes were not emotional. I did feel that if I had read the book
beforehand I would have been as emotionally involved as the water work inducing
fan girls that sat behind me and joined them in the chorus of tears and sobs.
But alas, I didn’t read it. But the film still did a good job in making the
film good enough to cater fans and non-readers alike. That is something that
has to be commended. Overall, The Fault in our Stars deserves credit for doing
what few young adult film adaptions have been able to do: make a film that
pleases the fans of the book and those who have never read it. This definitely
belongs in the conversation as one of the best book to film adaptations around.
Rating and Final Thoughts
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Great Acting, balanced humor, and strong emotion
make the adaption of John Green’s beloved book a terrific piece of film that
should make its talented novelist proud.
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With all the hype surrounding it, the inspiring love
story of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters dances into the hearts of
fans and moviegoers alike to become the big hit of the summer it hoped to be.
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