![]() ![]() This is largely because Trammell's acting talents are limited to a single, perplexed expression. ![]() To begin with, it has True Blood's Sam Trammell cast as Hazel's father, which means that whenever he's on screen, you expect him to turn into a dog. There are a number of things wrong with The Fault in Our Stars. They flocked to the theatres, they cried, they wailed and, from the look of things, a few of them went so far as to steal a bench. Such is the hysterical love for Green's novel that its devoted readership in the West didn't care how mediocre the film is. Plus there's a soundtrack of angst-heavy, teen-friendly tracks from everyone from Birdy and Jake Bugg to Ed Sheeran and STRFKR – ironic given Hazel's opening statement about how in the movies, teenage problems are usually resolved with "an apology and a Peter Gabriel song".Īll but shorn of its meditations on illness, faith and an author's responsibilities to their readers, and with virtually all the other characters reduced to one-dimensional, peripheral figures, The Fault in Our Stars becomes, perhaps deliberately, the Twilight-generation's Love Story, Dying Young or My Girl.įor many that may be enough, but one can't help feeling the book deserved better and in a case of life imitating art, part of me hopes that perhaps Boone and company may just find fans come seeking answers and justifications.For fans of Green's novel, there's the satisfaction of seeing beloved characters come to life. Sure screenwriters Michael H Weber and Scott Neustadter (who were behind the excellent The Spectacular Now and (500) Days of Summer) keep some of the book's best one-liners and set pieces, but they're underscored and undermined by Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott's cloying score and directorial decisions (a touch of slo-mo here, cutesy animation of the couple's texts there) that scream: "Feel this - now!"). This results in a number of jarring, rapid tonal changes and a resultant strange distancing when the tissues really should be out. Hardly a scene goes by without some attempt to elicit tears, laughter or outrage from the audience. Unlike Augustus, director Josh Boone's movie is very much a rollercoaster that lurches in both directions. In Hollywood’s hands, The Fault in Our Stars became, perhaps deliberately, the Twilight-generation's Love Story, Dying Young or My Girl. For the first time, Hazel might finally have something to look forward to. To her surprise, he not only finishes it, but has found a way to make contact with the author to try to get answers to the book's seemingly unresolved ending. However, she's caught off guard by the arrival at support group of Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort, who played Woodley's brother in Divergent), a charming, wisecracking older boy seemingly in remission from his own cancer crisis.īuoyed by Augustus's infectious enthusiasm ("I'm on a rollercoaster that only goes up, " he announces), Hazel decides to let him into her life and introduce him to her favourite book – An Imperial Affliction. Permanently attached to a portable oxygen tank due to a propensity for fluid in her lungs, Hazel has developed a self- defence mechanism involving a healthy dose of cynicism and avoiding social situations. Diagnosed with thyroid cancer at a young age, her life has become a seemingly endless cycle of reality-show viewings, doctors' appointments, medication combinations and support-group meetings. ![]() For those unfamiliar with Fault's plot, it's the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster (the ever-impressive Shailene " Divergent" Woodley, here more manic pixie girl than anything else). ![]()
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