In the much anticipated movie based on the best-seller The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley), longtime sufferer of thyroid cancer, has fallen in love with the oh so dreamy, one and a half legged Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort). The two meet in a cancer support group that is led by a ball-less cancer survivor and video game addict named Patrick (Mike Birbiglia). Augustus quickly falls in love with Hazel and uses his wish — supplied via the Grant A Wish Foundation — to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet their favorite author, Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe).
The cinematography separates this movie from most mainstream pictures. Josh Boone, the director, dares to stray away from shots simply focusing on the faces of the actors (although there are a good few of those, too). The variegated shots add an artful touch to the film, and there are also times when Boone lets the shot go on a beat or two longer than most directors would. The composition of the shots in Indiana are tight and limited, contrasting the open, spacious shots of Amsterdam, depicting more of the breathtaking scenery of the canals and architecture. Boone does not stray too far into the art of over-stylized directing, though.
Boone does an excellent job of making the film for the fans of the novel. The plot of novel-to-film adaptations have a habit of bastardizing the novel’s original plot, but The Fault In Our Stars remains incredibly faithful to the novel. With little to no changes, the film acts as an hour and a half reenactment of the novel, and most of the lines are derived from the book itself. Other filmic adaptations could take note from Mr. Boone’s work.
The film walks across the thin tightrope of being cheesy and being tremendously heartfelt. Woodley’s performance centers the movie. She brings a unique life to Hazel, embodying her depth and sweetness. Her acting parallels that of her co-star Ansel Elgort. His attempt to fulfill the large shoes of Augustus Waters distinctively lacked Waters’ innate charisma.
John Green’s characters tend to speak indistinctly and with a surreal intelligence for teenagers, making the dialogue’s transition from novel to film seem forced and artificial. The articulate narrative voices of Hazel and Augustus feel more authentic in text than they do on screen. Their dialogue made the film all the cheesier.
Boone featured a commercialized yet well-put together soundtrack for The Fault In Our Stars, featuring music of the indie-pop variety. The soundtrack is Boone’s own fan mix for Green’s novel. Although it works for the most part, the film could have experimented with the use of silence, allowing for greater impacts of what the characters spoke and did.
The tone of the movie (which will cause quite a few tears; waterproof makeup is highly suggested) is distinctly one of happiness. Hazel — amidst illness and the inevitability of her death — finds love and life. Her story shows the nature of beautiful things, like being alive. The Fault In Our Stars is a great movie for both crying and laughing harder than ever thought humanly possible – an ideal summer chick-flick.