I've heard (and seen directly in the theaters) that The Fault in Our Stars is a very popular film with teenagers (mostly teenage girls). All I have to say about that is I’m certainly glad teens these days are gaining such wonderful taste in movies! The Fault in Our Stars is a very sweet, sometimes funny, and (of course) very sad film, but most importantly it is a beautifully touching romance. We may only be half way through the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if the film ended up being my pick for best romance of 2014; both for its story, morals, and main actors.
The Fault in Our Stars tells the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley), a 16 year old living with terminal thyroid cancer that has affected her lungs to the point where she must lug around a portable oxygen tank to effectively breathe. During one of her support group meetings, she notices a newcomer teen named Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) who soon after strikes up a conversation with her. It’s learned that Augustus has a form of bone cancer that has fortunately gone into remission at the cost of one of his legs, which he’s replaced with a mechanical one. The film follows the relationship between Hazel Grace and Augustus as they deal with the ups and downs of their lives.
What truly makes The Fault in Our Stars work is our main acting duo. I think I’m having déjà vu; didn't I just last year praise Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now, ecstatically calling her performance natural, realistic, and dead on to that of your average teenager. I hope I don’t sound like a broken record by saying her performance in The Fault in Our Stars is natural, realistic and...well I guess I can’t say the last one, because despite the similarities, Hazel Grace is neither Aimee Finecky nor your average teenager. Here, Woodley portrays a teenager whose life is affected by and revolves around one of the worst diseases of our time. She can’t simply portray a typical teenager, she must portray one going through great hardships, struggles no one should have to endure, and the looming thought that her life may soon come to an end; a very difficult portrayal, but none-the-less one Woodley depicts exquisitely all the way through! When it comes to her performance nothing feels overdone or exaggerated; whether she’s sad, angry, broken, distressed, joyous, determined, playful, affectionate or happy the emotions feel beautifully genuine with each scene and setting. With wonderful portrayals such as these, Woodley has gone from being a surprise delight in The Descendants to one of my personal favorite actors of the decade.
Yet Woodley isn't the only one with a stand out performance, as her co-star Ansel Elgort delivers a great portrayal that rivals her own. There’s some wonderful chemistry between our two leads that allows the scenes to flow and work with far more effectiveness than what could have been. As Augustus, Elgort does a terrific job expanding upon the funny, charming, and happier scenes, but it’s the serious ones that truly stand out. As expected from a film dealing with cancer, there are scenes that require him to become very emotional, even to break down crying. It’s a somewhat rare sight in the romance genre to see the male lead, particularly the “handsome guy”, truly cry; it can be a bit unnerving to watch, and there were even a few uncomfortable giggles from the female viewers when it happened. Yet not only are such scenes important (particularly since they happen in real life), but I felt that Elgort was able to pull them off with natural efficiency. The character seems genuine; in one particular scene (involving them sitting on a bench in Amsterdam) Augustus is trying hard to stay strong talking to Hazel Grace, but is unable to stop a few tears dropping. When he does eventually break down it is uncomfortable to watch, not because it’s hammy or overacting, but due to showing such genuine bare emotions coming from someone who (up to that point) was relatively upbeat and strong willed. Elgort’s performance is charming, funny and adorable, but can naturally switch to showcase powerful emotions of sadness and melancholy which (when combined with the happier scenes) reveals proficient talent.
There are many different interpretations one could get from watching The Fault in Our Stars. One could leave with great emotional feeling (sorrow, joy, bitter sweetness), or perhaps a desire to know just what happened to Hazel Grace after the credits (similar to how she desired questions to her book An Imperial Affliction’s ending). My view on the film is simple yet also complex, because it involves my fiancée as much as I. Watching The Fault in Our Stars brought joy as much as it did sadness to us; we both laughed at the comedy and cheered at the romance, whispering to one another any positive (or negative) similarities we saw between us and the main couple. My fiancée often has difficulty with sad scenes, and low and behold got repeatedly teary eyed all throughout the second half of the film. Yet while the second half is an overwhelmingly emotional ride, the film (fortunately understanding how too much heartbreak could be a bad thing) spreads out the sadness with in-between lighthearted scenes so that viewers (such as my fiancée) wouldn't die from crying. Instead of being too upset at the sadness and ending, she was quite happy; even saying she loved the film. I was also quite satisfied, which goes to show the final strength of the film; that it’s not about being depressed over terrible misfortune, but about being happy for what you have no matter how short a period you have it. The Fault in Our Stars’ morals made me really think about the good that I have in my life, (a wonderful family and a loving soon-to-be wife to see movies alongside), and to treasure all the time I have with them; that’s in my opinion the showing of a great romance film.
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