The following is a review of the new movie, The Fault In Our Stars, and will contain spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, because you have neither read the book or seen the movie, then I suggest that you leave now and come back once you're done. If, you are one of those weird people that either like to be spoiled, or don't care either way, then please, read on....
**********SPOILER ALERT!!!!!**********
I will admit that I have not read the novel The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, so I went into the movie, completely oblivious to what awaited me. Okay, so not completely oblivious, as I don't live under a rock, but you get what I mean.
We meet Hazel Grace Lancaster as she's just about to attend a cancer support group. She has stage 4 thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs, and requires that she carry an oxygen tank around with her. Her mom thinks she's depressed and is forcing Hazel to go to the group in a effort to get out and meet other people and share their experiences. At the group, she meets Augustus Waters, who has survived his bout with osteosarcoma, but lost part of his leg in the process. Gus invites Hazel back to his house, where they share their stories and promise to read each others favourite novels. Hazel's favourite book is An Imperial Affliction, written by Peter Van Houten. It tells the story of a young girl, Anna, who is stricken with cancer, and Hazel sees parallels in her life with that of the character. Augustus is frustrated by the novel, as it has an extremely cryptic ending (the novel actually ends in the middle of a sentence), so he tracks down Van Houten, who has become a recluse in Amsterdam, and begins a correspondence with him. Hazel writes the author to get him to explain to her what happened to the other characters in the novel after Anna died, but he explains that he can only tell her in person, so if she's ever in Amsterdam, she should stop by and chat. Unfortunately, due to financial restrictions Hazel and her family are unable to make the trip. Gus surprises Hazel with a trip to Amsterdam, funded by a make-a-wish foundation wish that he had yet to use. (Hazel had used hers when she was 13 on a trip to DisneyWorld). Before the trip, however, Hazel suffers a set back that hospitalizes her and her doctors advise against her going. Undaunted, her parents, knowing that she'll never get another chance, make arrangements for the trip to happen anyway. So Hazel, Gus and Hazel's mom, Frannie, pack up and head to Amsterdam. Gus and Hazel share a romantic dinner at an upscale restaurant, care of Peter Van Houten, where they taste champagne for the first time. Gus tells Hazel that he's in love with her, although she doesn't admit her feelings, still afraid of what's going to become of the people that are left behind after she dies. The next day, the two finally get an opportunity to meet the great Peter Van Houten. They are disappointed, however, when they discover that their idol is nothing more than a nasty, insulting drunk, who didn't actually want to meet them and who had no intention of discussing his book with them. It was his assistant, Lidewij, who had arranged the meeting, hoping that it would help Van Houten see the effect that his work had on people. They leave disgusted and disheartened, but are stopped by Lidewij, who apologizes and offers to take them on a tour of the city. The end up at the Anne Frank house, but unfortunately, it does not have an elevator. Hazel insists that she can do the stairs, even though her lungs are weak, and they continue. She struggles, but eventually makes it to the top floor. Hazel finally realizes that she is also in love with Augustus, and the two of them share their first romantic kiss. Gus takes her back to his hotel room and they make love. The next morning, Gus insists that they go for a walk alone, where he tells her that, just before she was admitted to the hospital, he had some pain in his hip. When they did a PET scan, they found that his cancer had spread and that he was terminal. Hazel refuses to give up on him, and they continue their relationship. Once they return home, Gus' health deteriorates rapidly. He holds a mock funeral for himself, wanting to hear what his best friend, Isaac, and Hazel plan to say in their eulogies at his funeral. Hazel's eulogy explains that there are many infinities and that although their time together was short, she would not trade it for anything, that Gus was the love of her life. He dies eight days later. At his actual funeral, she's surprised to see Peter Van Houten in attendance. When she gets up to speak, she doesn't use the eulogy that she had previously written, instead telling the mourners the general tropes that they want to hear. As she's leaving Van Houten gets in the car with her, admitting that he and Augustus continued to correspond with one another after their trip to Amsterdam. He also admits that the girl in his novel was based on his daughter, who died at a young age. He tries to answer the questions that Hazel had in regards to the characters in his story, but she will have none of it, insisting that he leave her alone. He hands her a note as he exits, but she crumples it up and tosses it on the floor of the car. Isaac comes to visit her later, and lets her know that Gus had asked Van Houten to help him write a eulogy for her. Realizing that that was what the note Van Houten tried to give her earlier was, she finds it and reads it. It was an e-mail that Gus had sent to Van Houten, explaining his acceptance of his fate and his love for Hazel. The movie concludes with Hazel accepting her own fate and appreciating what she has now and what she had with Augustus.
As you can imagine, this movie is pretty heart-wrenching. My thoughts going in were, okay, she has terminal cancer, so she's going to be the one to die. For Gus to be the one to actually die over the course of the film, kind of threw me for a loop. It was unexpected, which is never a bad thing in a movie. You want a movie to keep you on your toes, and this one did it beautifully.
What I appreciated about this story was the fact that it was an honest to goodness love story. No bells and whistles, or, these days, vampires and werewolves, to pull the plot along. It's about two people, facing unbelievable challenges who find each other and don't give up when life intervenes. It was funny and heart-breaking in it's honest portrayal of these characters and the trials that life had thrown at them. Shailene Woodley is a force to be reckoned with, as she brings an honesty and likeability to all the characters that she portrays. Her Hazel Grace is strong and resilient in the face of insurmountable adversity, but was also scared and vulnerable at the same time. The scene, just before Gus' mock funeral, where she's arguing with her parents is amazing. She's afraid what's going to become of them after she's gone but has never had the courage to say it out loud. When she finally tells them that she's afraid that they are going to give up and possibly kill themselves, you feel her fear. When her mom tells her that she's going to school to become a counsellor, so that she can help other families who are facing what they are, you can see the burden being lifted from Hazel's shoulders. It's a touching scene about facing the truth and being strong enough to talk about it and deal with it.
The pacing of the film is great, never getting bogged down by the heavy subject matter. Director Josh Boone does a great job of keeping the focus on Hazel and Augustus' relationship, and the film is beautifully shot, the location shots in Amsterdam particularly stunning. While the plot device may be serious, the movie has a light-hearted feel for the most part, as the focus is kept on the relationship and the characters, and not the cancer. Woodley and Elgort have an easy chemistry, making you believe that they are truly in love. It will be hard to go back to the Divergent trilogy and see them as brother and sister now, that's for sure.
While this movie definitely tugs at the heart-strings, possibly even breaking a few in the process, ultimately it's about more than that. It's a tale of two people who fall in love under less than ideal circumstances and use that love to become better people. People determined to leave this life having left their mark, even if it's just on the people who meant the most to them. It's a story that we can all learn from. Life is short, so we'd better make the most of the time that we have. Heartbreak is inevitable, unless you never put yourself out there. But where's the fun in that? Is it not truly better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all? I guess that's a choice we all have to eventually make for ourselves.
