HOLLYWOOD—It’s not easy for a truly romantic film to stir certain emotions, but with great narrative, layered characters and a smart director it’s easy to make tears shed from ones eyes. “The Fault of Our Stars” is based on the popular 2012 young adult novel by John Green that revolves around a cancer patient named Hazel Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) who fall in love after meeting at a support group meeting.
Its somewhat teeny bop, depending on who you ask, but at the central core it’s a tale about love that goes through all the ups and downs of a relationship, but the audience is well aware its focal character is terminally ill and will die, which makes the impact of the story so haunting. This is a piece about love blossoming for two unknowns, and the audience taking a journey with these characters, as they grow increasingly engrossed with one another.
Woodley is perfect casting as Hazel. She’s everything that a typical teenager isn’t. She’s defensive, sarcastic and has accepted that her fate has been sealed, that’s until Gus (Elgort) catches her eye and forces her to see life full of opportunities, regardless of the situations they’ve both faced in regards to cancer. She has to lug an oxygen tank around, he has a prosthetic leg.
Both teens have been through a lot, but Hazel is distant as she knows Gus getting too close to her will only result in heartbreak. Gus, while in remission from his cancer, sees life as a ball of sunshine where the opportunities are endless. He plans to live it up, and wants to do that with this girl who he sees more in her, than she sees in herself.
The more that she pushes Gus away, the more he becomes smitten by her, and a chase ensues, where Hazel eventually falls for her suitor. Most sentimental dramas can be predicted a mile away, the over the top sappiness, the impending grief the audience can see a million miles away, but “The Fault in Our Stars” doesn’t give the audience all that they expect. Actors Woodley and Elgort deliver performances that are so riveting it’s difficult to take your eyes away from the screen.
It’s a treat to see these characters travel and bond with other characters that are in similar predicaments like Gus’ pal Isaac (Nat Wolff), who uses humor as a way to cope with his condition. So many times when placed in dire situations we tend to beat ourselves up more than we can expect, but with this movie a silver lining is delivered to the audience: just when you expect all to be loss, it’s not necessarily the case.
A strong supporting cast thanks to actors Laura Dern, Sam Trammell and William Dafoe, give the audience a perspective from those on the outside looking in at the characters. Watching this tearjerker I felt emotionally connected to characters in a way that I haven’t in quite some time. “The Fault of Our Stars” is not just a love story about two ill characters, the people who love them or living life to its fullest, it’s a tale about overcoming our fears in life. Taking a leap into the unexpected because we never know what we might discover about ourselves.
