'The Fault In Our Stars' - Review - Chris At The Pictures

Friday, 20 June 2014

'The Fault In Our Stars' - Review



Based on the best-selling teen novel by John Green, The Fault In Our Stars is a romantic drama depicting the story of Hazel and Gus (Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort), both saddled with debilitating afflictions. Despite their constant companions of an oxygen tank and a prosthetic leg respectively, their mutual love for the unconventional and shared acerbic wit brings them inexorably together, whilst Hazel’s wavering condition threatens to pull them apart.
 
One of the best things a film can do is prove you wrong, to show you something that you didn’t expect from something you thought would only irritate you…and that’s exactly what The Fault In Our Stars is. The trailer made it out to be another heartless, airbrushed Hollywood romance that simply used the cancer element to gain cheap weeps from the audience. In reality, the film earns those tears (and trust me, there will be a lot of them) and the very instant it seems like the story is going in a predictable and wishy-washy direction, it picks up an unexpected plot development and beats you over the head for thinking so little of it.




The greatest strength the film has to offer is Shailene Woodley: having been not only unconvinced but very annoyed by her in Divergent, I still find it hard to believe that it is actually the same actress. Her performance shows a level of maturity and devotion to her character that is astounding, retaining the innocence of someone who does the best with what they have and the tortured soul of a young woman desperately clinging to life lest it toss her into the void. Ansel Elgort also carries a similar degree of child-like innocence as Gus in order to stay level with Hazel and help her make the best of unbearable circumstances. The two leads bounce off each other well during the initial awkward phase and by the end I think you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t utterly believe that the two are hopelessly in love.

A healthy degree of black comedy is also woven into the film, split between the two leads and Nat Wolff as Isaac, a close friend of Gus who is slowly losing his eyesight. Laura Dern (who we’ve seen far too little of lately) is endearingly believable as the concerned and protective mother while Willem Dafoe lends an almost nihilistic air to the proceedings which is kept in-check to prevent it spilling over into the main narrative. The focus is kept almost constantly on the two lovers, the cinematography remaining intimate but not intrusive throughout, not bothering itself with over-extravagant establishing shots but keeping the eye of the audience entirely at the level of each character. 

The film is not entirely perfect, no matter how hard it tries. The opening twenty minutes feel a little tangled as the film attempts to balance the realistic tone with some very awkwardly written dialogue, and some otherwise heartfelt moments are almost ruined by a selection of pseudo-intellectual and overly philosophical statements that probably worked fine in the book, but on-screen feel forced and unnatural.

The Fault In Our Stars is a deeply felt, heart-breaking story of two people who find comfort and peace in the arms of one another despite fearful odds. Soaring past average expectations thanks to powerhouse performances, an unflinching but understanding attitude towards illness and some of the most beautiful moments of recent cinematic history, it should not be missed. Bring plenty of tissues.


4 Stars