The Fault in Our Stars

Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Willem Dafoe
Length: 126 mins
Country: USA

Based on John Green’s bestselling novel, The Fault in Our Stars had a lot to live up to. Since its publication in 2012, it’s become something of a cultural phenomenon with the film thus having a ready-made fan base. The Fault in Our Stars undeniably sets us up to knock us back down with an emotionally draining plot and powerful performances: under the direction of relative newbie Josh Boone, the film skilfully balances wit and humour with emotional resonance and hints of nihilism as the two teenagers try to find meaning in life when they are living with cancer.

The film opens with Hazel Grace Lancaster’s (Shailene Woodley) voiceover declaring that the following narrative  is not a sugar coated story,  but a realistic depiction of the reality that is her life. The film’s premise is Hazel Grace, who has thyroid cancer, appeasing her parents as she agrees to attend a support group where she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), a one-legged fellow cancer sufferer. The pair subsequently bond over their outlook towards life and fall in love. Both characters acknowledge that their days together are numbered yet refuse to be defined by this fact and commit to enjoying the ‘little infinity’ of their time together.

John Green’s depiction of the characters in the novel make Hazel and Gus much more than kids with cancer, but it’s the portrayal of Woodley and Elgort that catapult the characters into something much more potent. Hazel and Gus have ambition, fears and dreams as they face imminent oblivion. Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe are also strong in their supporting roles as Hazel’s mother and Peter van Houten respectively. As the writer that Hazel and Gus travel to Amsterdam to meet, it is Dafoe’s biting performance that brings a deeper meaning to The Fault in Our Stars, making controversial remarks about how people living with cancer are treated in today’s society. Defoe’s appearance is brief yet it adds a welcome change in tone with the harsh reality seeping in.

Despite not being a typical summer blockbuster, the film is profound and thought-provoking, which owes great credit to its source material to which it is most faithful.

A particular interest of many was how the character of Augustus Waters would translate on screen. In the novel, he is portrayed as a pretentious young man and this had the potential to be magnified to the point of ridicule on screen. Lines such as ‘that’s the thing about pain. It demands to be felt’ and the cigarette metaphor, however, all become part of Gus’ self-assured nature. Despite it being somewhat overpowering to begin with, the audience come to understand that it is simply part of the character and provokes greater emotional resonance later on with Gus’ vulnerability really shining through.

On the whole, Boone does not patronise his audience by over-sentimentalising the relationship between Gus and Hazel, however, there is one moment that seemed almost too based in Hollywood tropes. During their trip to Amsterdam, as Hazel and Gus visit Anne Frank’s house, Hazel greatly struggles up the numerous flights of stairs due to her failing lungs. I thought this was highly symbolic and evocative as the struggles that Hazel and Anne faced were out of their control, although the circumstances are extremely different. Afterwards, the scene was tainted somewhat by Hazel and Gus having their first kiss in none other than Anne Frank’s tragic hiding place. This may have been forgivable, but the Hollywood style kiss was followed by the applause of standing tourists. This, I felt, was cheesy and crude, and undercut the tone set in the previous scenes. I understand Boone’s choice in doing so due to the messages of hope, youth and suffering associated with Frank, but ultimately, it simply detracted from the film’s overall tone.

By many, The Fault in Our Stars has been called manipulative, and whilst this is understandable, it is simply a result of the shaping and endpoint of Green’s narrative and the audience do not appear to be under any pretence to the contrary. Despite not being a typical summer blockbuster,  the film is profound and thought-provoking, which owes great credit to its source material to which it is most faithful. Shailene Woodley’s powerful performance as Hazel Grace is also a main reason for its success with a scene towards the film’s end being emotionally draining in its simplicity and sheer intensity.

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