“The Fault in Our Stars” is a romantic drama staring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as Hazel and Augustus – two teenagers who reluctantly forge a relationship. Their relationship is affected by the fact that they have both been diagnosed with cancer and know that their life is not guaranteed. Despite the risk of loving and losing, Hazel and Augustus decide to be together for as long as they have left.
Plot Summary
“The Fault in Our Stars” opens with 17-year-old Hazel Lancaster meeting a boy named Augustus Waters. The teens soon discover they have one thing in common – both of their lives have been affected by cancer. Hazel tells Augustus that she is suffering from thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs – a condition that is by all accounts going to be fatal. In turn, Augustus shares that he had cancer when he was younger, but it is now in remission.
Shortly after meeting, Hazel and Augustus agree to read each other’s favorite books. Augustus gives Hazel a book called “The Price of Dawn,” and the story ends up deeply affecting her. She shares how she is troubled by the fact that the book does not explain what happened to the main character – a girl who, like Hazel, was diagnosed with cancer as a teenager.
Augustus secretly writes to the author of the book, Peter Van Houten, asking him for answers about the book’s ending. Eventually, the author agrees to give Augustus answers if he comes to meet him in person. Augustus arranges a trip to Van Houten’s home in Amsterdam, but right before they are to leave, Hazel’s lungs fill with fluid and she is admitted to the hospital. After she recovers, Hazel and Augustus travel to Amsterdam to meet Van Houten, but he turns out to be an angry alcoholic who refuses to give them answers about the book.
When they return home, Augustus reveals that he recently found out that his cancer has returned and is in an advanced state. Hazel assumed she would be the first one to die, so she struggles with her feelings for Augustus. In the end, Hazel finds answers to her past and future from an unlikely source: none other than Van Houten.
Cast
“The Fault in Our Stars” is expected to be one of the best movies of the year, partly due to the great on-screen chemistry between Woodley and Elgort. Both characters face cancer with the determination not to fall into depression or accept the sympathies of others. In that way, both actors create characters that are altogether very similar. However, Woodley’s character is strong on the outside, but afraid and vulnerable on the inside. Her hidden frailty is offset by Elgort’s character who is sure of himself and Hazel. Their roles vis-à-vis each other are reversed toward the end of the film when Augustus suffers a relapse, and both actors make the switch effortlessly.
Film Analysis
“The Fault in Our Stars” is a heartbreaking story that should seem depressing. However, the way the lead characters refuse to play into the image of a teenage cancer patient allows the film to focus on more than just their impending deaths. Additionally, Hazel’s reluctance to forge a relationship with Augustus saves the film from moving too fast. The teens meet in one of the opening scenes, but they do not confess their love for one another for some time. This makes the evolution of the relationship the focus of the film, rather than the fact that both characters are affected by cancer.
The film is faithful to the novel it is based on, and that’s not a bad thing. The film captures the essence of the characters and stays true to the story without altering any of the major details. Although this means there are no major surprises or plot twists, the story does not require any. The only real change is that the conflict with Van Houten is played up a bit in the film. This actually makes the story more intriguing, since there is no other real conflict between the other characters.
One of the best aspects of the movie is the script. With the movie that spends so much time watching two characters talk, a great script is absolutely necessary. The screenwriters in this case deliver. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, writers of the screenplays for “500 Days of Summer” and “The Spectacular Now,” bring the words from the book to life in the film, but also make some great changes. Hazel and Augustus banter back and forth constantly throughout the movie, even when one or the other is in the hospital, and the witty conversation breaks up the sadness at the heart of the story.
