4.5 out of 5 stars
Family appropriateness rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Rated PG-13
-A moderate amount of language including one f-word
-A moderate amount of sexual content
-One scene of sensuality. The characters take off their clothes. The girl takes off her bra, which is shot from behind so nothing is seen. It shows the characters touching each other and kissing, but nothing beyond that.
"The Fault in Our Stars" seeks to find positivity in a world of harsh reality.
Hazel Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is a teenager who has spent a big chunk of her life fighting cancer. She has only survived as long as she has because of a special medication that works for very few people. Her sickness has gotten so bad that she has to carry an oxygen tank around to aid her breathing.
She is a perfectly normal girl for her age. She has hopes and dreams for the future, or at least for what her future would be if she had one. It is depressing to her that she knows she is going to die, and there are a lot of things she may never experience. This is shown as she looks at couples in love. She does not think something like that will ever happen to her in the short time she has.
Despite Hazel's protests, her mother (Laura Dern) makes her join a support group for other cancer patients and survivors. It is there that she meets Augustus "Gus" Waters (Ansel Elgort). He is a quirky, highly positive young man. He survived a bout with cancer, but lost his leg in the process.
The movie beautifully shows the relationship develop between Hazel and Gus. At first, their chemistry seems a little off. Whenever Gus talks, he seems to be doing stand-up comedy for Hazel, who only finds his jokes mildly funny. That is because they are in the early stages of the relationship when they are flirty and not quite comfortable with each other. As the film goes on, they face certain challenges together, and their chemistry strengthens.
Through this relationship, both characters find that there are things to live for. They realize that everyone is going to die eventually. It will simply to happen earlier for them. While they are alive, they need to make the best of what they have.
A problem I initially had with this film is the bloated dialogue. The main characters are very young, but they talk about deep, complex philosophy. They seem way too smart for people their age. After thinking about it, I realized this must have been done on purpose. The characters have been so close to death, that all of the complexity of speech is simply them trying to figure their lives out.
This is especially true of the Gus character. Ansel Elgort is a very likable guy. His debut role was in the remake of Steven King's "Carrie," in which he plays another nice guy named Tommy Ross. He did an excellent job in that film, and I was looking forward to seeing what more he had. At first he seems too perfect in this movie, but he is this way because of his fear of dying without being remembered.
A while ago in my review for "Divergent," I wrote that Shailene Woodley did a pretty good job but she is not that great an actress. I take that back. She is great! She does perfectly as a witty teenage girl who is dying. This role requires a lot of emotional depth, and she pulls it off very well.
Another great performance is by Willem Dafoe. He is only in a couple scenes, but one of them is the strongest part of the film.
The only problem is the pacing. The section in which the main relationship develops drags a little. However, this is a minor flaw. The characters are interesting enough to keep it entertaining especially when the story picks up.
I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a romantic story done right. The characters are likable and the relationship is developed so well that it is easy to care about. Just be warned that it is a pretty sad movie. I may or may not have cried a little.
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