No Faults for John Green

The beautiful tragedy of a cancer-ridden love story is brought from page to screen through John Green’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’. Shailene Woodley brings to life the character of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Ansel Elgort makes you fall in even deeper love with Augustus Waters than when you read the novel the first time around.

Hazel and Gus first meet at a weekly cancer support group session at their local church, and connect over Gus’s fear of ‘oblivion’. There are some things that spark romance, and in this story agreeing to disagree on the fear that no individual will be remembered in an infinite number of years from now seems to be one of them.

I read John Green novels like they are my personal Bible, and I have to admit when I heard the announcement about a year back that 20th Century Fox was planning a movie adaptation of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, I was nervous. This is a popular story that many people feel close to because of its raw portrayal illness, young love, and loss. I didn’t want any Hollywood director ruining the world I created for Hazel and Gus. The snarky film student and love novel enthusiast in me was not disappointed, but delighted.

Director Josh Boone (‘Stuck in Love’) stayed close to the realness of the story and managed to accomplish what few directors seem to do in book to movie adaptations: he turned the theme, message, and simplicity of the novel into a visually aesthetic motion picture replica. John Green’s writing is simple yet clean and entertaining, and this very style found its way into movie magic. The cinematography incorporated natural lighting and the shots remained in stunning focus throughout. Plenty of close ups allowed the audience to feel as if they were in the scene having the conversation too. The cuts were tight and tidy and caught expressions and reactions to events or words in smooth timing. There was nothing outrageous or out of place in Boone’s work. He stuck to simple film techniques because the whole focus and craze over ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is of course, the characters. Boone did not take away from that intent by over the top camera stunts.

Hazel narrates the novel in first person, and Shailene Woodley replicates that personal narration device by frequent voiceovers throughout the film. I was actually more surprised by Shailene Woodley’s performance than anything else in the movie. Woodley recently portrayed the character of Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior in the first motion picture installment of Summit Entertainment’s ‘Divergent’ trilogy, another book to movie adaptation by author Veronica Roth. I was not impressed with the actress’s characterization of Tris, so I did not have high hopes for Woodley’s portrayal of Hazel. A makeup-less and crop-haired Woodley proved my assumptions wrong with every scene that went by. Her frequent eye-rolls, tears, and ability to replicate the expressions and mannerisms of someone experiencing intense emotional and physical pain filled me with admiration. With a story so focused on character development, casting was everything; Ms. Shailene Woodley nailed it.

For a movie so filled with tragedy, there is constant light in each scene. I found light in both the literal and figurative senses. The movie is lit so in that even in intense hospital scenes, there is no overwhelming darkness on screen. The colors are vibrant and may even trick you into believing this is a happy story. The color blue makes its way into many aspects of the movie, especially in Hazel’s clothing, which alludes to the distinct book cover. This bright lighting reflects a theme in the novel that every person deserves to live a happy and fulfilling life, even if that life experiences darkness: suffering, or a life cut short.

In the figurative sense of light, this movie will have you laughing. The awkward, ironic, clever moments will have you chuckling in your movie theater seat, but be warned: there will also be tears. Bring a tissue box and don’t plan to do anything too important after, for you will leave the theater a bit happy, and bit sad, and pondering the meaning of life. A PG-13 emotional roller coaster, I highly suggest a trip to the cinemas for this one, ‘okay’? Okay.