The Fault in Our Stars

At first, I genuinely thought that I would hate this movie. The trailer certainly did it no justice. Walking into the cinema with my friend, I had this sinking feeling in my heart that I was wasting my money. How wrong I was.

I will start with the beginning of the movie, naturally. I will admit, the first fifty minutes of this two hour movie did feel rather fast-paced. A lot of events happened in the first twenty minutes of this film, whether it be Hazel, the lead female character, narrating or showing us these events on screen. A thing that kind of ticked me off and deducted from the seriousness and emotion of this film, and kind of made it like a chick-flick, was the instant attraction between Hazel and Gus.

Now, I will explain. Hazel, who is dying of terminal cancer, is encouraged by her mother to attend a cancer support group, as her mother believes that Hazel is suffering from depression and needs to interact with more people like her, something Hazel reluctantly agrees to.

For the first few meetings, it's clear that Hazel wants to be anywhere, just anywhere, as long as it's not the cancer support group, led by a Jesus-loving man who suffered from testicular cancer. When Hazel is on the verge of leaving, she decides to go in for the last time and bumps into Augustus Waters, commonly called Gus.

After bumping into each other, they leave for the next meeting. It's revealed that Gus is there to support his friend Isaac, who is blind in one eye and later in the movie has the other eye taken out.

I feel that Ansel Elgort (Gus), is the best actor in the movie. He portrays Gus expertly, giving life to the character. Gus is likable, funny, sarcastic, compassionate and supportive. One of my worries was that Gus would be too perfect, but it's clear as the film goes on that he isn't. He can be secretive, shown when he hides that fact that his cancer has returned to Hazel. He also desires to make his mark on the world, and this is where Hazel comes in.

In Gus' words, "Hazel was not loved widely, but she was loved deeply." Hazel didn't care about being known. She just wanted someone who she could trust. Gus wanted, as I stated before, to be known, loved, but Hazel had much more simple goals.

Hazel and Gus are a great couple and suit each other well. Gus is more confident and outgoing than Hazel, who is much more introverted and reserved. She knows and accepts that fact that she is going to die, and just wants to get on with her business. It's shown that they bring out the best in each other, which is what a relationship should do.

Shailene Woodley is incredibly likable in this movie. She is a very good actress, and Hazel feels real, like someone who is really suffering from cancer.

One thing that I love about the movie is this: their love feels real. It isn't some sappy, shallow feelings that YA movies are clogged with. It is real and powerful, and I firmly believe that this film could turn the most pessimistic cynic into a bumbling fool. This is backed up by one particular scene. In the scene, Gus and Hazel make love. After this, I considered the possibility that their relationship could turn into a sex fest but it does not. In fact, the love scene was in the latter part of the movie and felt "right", like it should be there.

The music does its job by setting a great atmosphere in this film. In fact, the atmosphere is one of the best things about The Fault in Our Stars. It's witty, romantic and heartfelt, and stays true to its bestselling source material. It can make you laugh, cry and just be gobsmacked. I cried no less than five times in this movie, once in the happiest part, when Gus and Hazel finally kissed.

The story isn't remarkable, but I prefer it this way. The Fault in Our Stars is about Gus and Hazel's relationship and their story is a personal, human one, which I enjoyed. Gus and Hazel form a bond through a novel called The Imperial Affliction. The novel is written by Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe) and is about a young girl named Anna with cancer. The novel ends mid-sentence, which frustrates Gus, and he and Hazel wish to know what happens after. After building up their relationship, Gus uses his cancer wish so he, Hazel and Hazel's mother can visit Amsterdam, where Van Houten lives, to seek answers. The Amsterdam sections in this motion picture are my favourite parts. It is romantic, which shows Hazel and Gus go on a dinner date and his profession of love, with them having sex soon after, and then finally visiting Van Houten. Van Houten turns out to be a miserable drunk and refuses to give them the answers they want.

After their visit, they visit the Anne Frank house, which leads to their first kiss. After making love that night, the next morning Gus and Hazel go for a walk, and he reveals there that he has cancer, and it has spread all over his body. This initiates the final stage of the film, and it's definitely the most heart-breaking. Long story short, Gus dies, Van Houten visits his funeral and delivers Gus' eulogy for Hazel's funeral, which Gus had mailed to Van Houten when they were corresponding. It's revealed that Gus had ordered Van Houten to give Hazel answers.

After reading Gus' letter, the saddest letter ever, the movie ends with Hazel lying on the grass, the letter on her chest, and saying "Okay", a word that was prominent in the beginning of their relationship as they attempted to conquer the initial awkwardness. I cried like a baby at that.

For my verdict, I would recommend this movie to anyone. It's witty, clever and depressing, and it gives for a perfect mix.

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