140 Chacter Movie Review – #140RVW
Would it be too cutesy to say this movie was “okay”? (That’s a book joke, folks.) You had better have loved the book if you go see this one.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Fault in Our Stars:
This review is probably only useful to people who haven’t read this book. It should be fairly simple if you have read the book: you’ll love it. How could you not? It’s essentially an illustrated version of the novel. I can’t believe it actually required two separate people to “adapt” the book into a screenplay. Y’know, there’s a fine line between being faithful and slavish: look behind you…
So, is that a bad thing, this adherence to the source material? Not really; it’s a well written novel and a great story that works well as a movie. But I did sort of wonder why I was bothering to watch the film, since it brought absolutely nothing new to the table.
For those who haven’t read it yet, this may play a lot better. It’s the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster (superbly acted by Shailene Woodley, a mortal lock for a Best Actress nomination), a sixteen-year-old suffering from terminal cancer, who meet cutes cancer survivor Augustus Waters (Ansel Engort) at a support group. The two star-crossed lovers proceed to struggle with their illnesses, help each other, and basically make everyone in the theater cry.
One criticism of the book was that the dialogue was not realistic for teenagers – that teens just didn’t talk this way. As I stated in my review of the book, I disagree with that sentiment. While sometimes stilted and often pretentious, I do find the dialogue authentic; many teenagers are pretentious and use big words to impress people. But the criticism will only feel more justified in the film version, as no actor can deliver some of these lines without them coming off as affected.
The acting is really excellent, led by Woodley but with great performances throughout by Elgort and Nat Wolff. One of the true joys for me was that I was completely unaware of who was in this picture, as every promo image features only the leads, so I found Laura Dern & Sam Trammell as Hazel’s parents a complete surprise. Even more surprising was Willem Dafoe as the mysterious author Peter Van Houten. Odd bit of casting, but not bad at all.
In short, the movie does a very good job of telling this story for those who didn’t read the book, without improving on it in any way. (Exception: the scene at Anne Frank’s home in Amsterdam is wonderfully executed and really much more moving than in the novel.) All of the things you loved about the book you’ll love here; all the things you didn’t like will be amplified, as well, though. So if Augustus made you swoon in print, you’re in luck. If you found him slightly pompous and that affectation with the cigarette annoyingly smarmy and trite, I have some bad news for you.
While I’m not completely convinced this movie needed to be made, The Fault In Our Stars is a good little movie. Probably too long, but I doubt the teenage girls who completely dominate the film’s audience mind. (Side note: Interesting and slightly disturbing conversation between two such teens overheard by my wife after the film ended – “That was so depressing.” “Seriously. I’m going to go home and watch all of the Twilight films to feel better.”)
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: B (9 pts)
Some on the Representation Test blog comments rated this higher, but I stand by this score – although it was a tough one to judge. It’s tough to say this is representative when everyone is white and thin, and while I don’t think there are negative cultural stereotypes, they do have a bit of fun at the expense of the God-loving support leader. There’s no violence, sure, but why would there be in this story? So some of these things are difficult to answer.
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Shailene Woodley Hazel, Ansel Elgort Gus, Nat Wolff Isaac, Laura Dern Frannie |
| Rating | PG-13 |
| Release Date | Fri 06 Jun 2014 UTC |
| Director | Josh Boone |
| Genres | Drama, Romance |
| Plot | Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel’s other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 126 |
| Tagline | One sick love story |
| Writers | Scott Neustadter (screenplay) &, Michael H. Weber (screenplay) … |
| Year | 2014 |
