I am a huge fan of book-film adaptations; I choose to see them as two separate entities instead of picking up on every slight difference between the book and the film. I love books and I love films, so that seems like the best way to approach it. For me, the film was just as enjoyable as the book.
From the outset, you know the film is going to be extremely sad - of course, it's a story of two teenagers with incurable cancer, you know it won't necessarily have a traditional happy ending with the two main protagonists riding off into the sunset. However, that doesn't mean that The Fault In Our Stars doesn't have some beautifully uplifting and touching moments and I think here is where the movie has it's strong point (along with it's amazing cast).
I think what is amazing about John Green's writing is that he doesn't sugarcoat things and that is more or less reflected in the film. We see the awful effects of cancer both on the sufferer and also the family and friends - some of the most difficult scenes to watch were those with Hazel's parents (portrayed excellently by Laura Dern and Sam Trammel) and seeing them battle between giving Hazel everything she wants and keeping her as well as she can be.
It seems that Shailene Woodley can do no wrong at the moment and she is well cast as Hazel. She is a likeable and charming lead, and once again, has effortless natural chemistry with Ansel Elgort who plays Gus and is also her co star in the Divergent series. Gus is really brought to life by Elgort; he plays the handsome rebel-like male lead during the upbeat scenes and pulls at your heart strings during the more tragic ones.
Perhaps one of the only down points is that at times the script is a little bit clichéd and although the lines may be identical to the book, sometimes it doesn't translate as well to the big screen. It's all beautiful and romantic and live for the day, for me, the romantic lines are a little saccharine. Perhaps that is just my cold heart of stone though!
I think the teen audience will be more than pleased with this adaptation. Gus is dreamily enough brought to life from the page and Hazel's quips and views on life provide a lot of food for thought for teens. It is a sad story but the romance behind it is enough to satisfy the demanding audience and in my opinion, remains loyal enough to the book (although omitting plenty of scenes and popular quotes). Enjoyable in the why-do-we-do-this-to-ourselves way...Don't forget the tissues!
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