It is funny to see how a poster and a hype around a movie can influence your expectations. With this movie, based on a popular book, it was immediately clear to me that the target group for this one was teenage girls. I have seen various other movies of this type appear (Twilight, City of Bones, Beautiful Creatures (skipped all of them)), so I was not really jumping for joy to watch this one. My expectation was a predictable movie filled with clichés. But after hearing a lot of very positive things about it I got curious about the quality of the film.
Hazel (Shailene Woodley) is a teenager who has been suffering from cancer ever she was young, which means she constantly has to wear an oxygen mask because her lungs no longer function as well as they should. She has to visit the hospital regularly. When she was young she almost passed away, but thanks to some experimental medicine she’s still alive. She tries to live her life as normal as possible, but her parents do force her to attend a support group so she can talk to other kids who are struggling with the same issues. She doesn’t like going, but when she meets Gus (Ansel Elgort) there they make a connection. Together they start a fascinating journey through life, filled with a lot of insecurity as it is uncertain how long Hazels body will be able to make it.
The story about how these two young people deal with this disease and try to make the most of the moments they have is told in a beautiful way. The most clichés I was expecting were not present and the way the disease is brought to the screen feels quite realistic. It shows that even though you might have it, this does not mean they are weak or don’t have the same emotions as everyone else. There is a scene in which someone makes some very hurtful remarks and Hazel stands up to him. Shailene Woodley, who managed to impress in The Descendants, does so again and convincingly pulls the viewer into the world of her character. The movie is touching on many levels, dramatic, romantic and even comic and was one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. I wasn’t expecting to like this movie so much. I am not able to make the comparison to the book, but seeing the reception of the movie I can guess it probably does a good job bringing it to the screen.
A surprisingly good movie for me as well. Shailene was superb.
Yeah, she’s good in everything I have seen her in.
I loved The Fault in Our Stars! Definitely with you – was better than I expected it to be. One of my favorite movies of the year so far!
Yeah, pretty sure it will end up high on my list as well.
Having read the book and knowing that author John Green was involved in the making of the film, I actually did expect high quality of this film. Nevertheless, I am super happy it did turn out so well! I’ve seen it twice already and can’t wait to do so again.
Like you I also seen it twice already, second time with the kids (both teenagers) and they also loved it and were moved by it.
This is one that’s been on my radar for a while after enjoying Shailene Woodley’s previous performance in The Descendants. It sounds like managed to tell a very sad story with plenty of heart. It’s difficult to find the optimism in situations such as these but that’s where the power of the human spirit comes into play. Nice to hear they avoid typical cliches too!
Yes, that’s a very good summary of it. There was one moment which I didn’t like (involving applause), but besides that very good.
That chimes with what I’ve been hearing about this. I’ll be honest; this held no appeal but my interest has certainly been piqued by all the glowing reviews. Nice work.
Like you I wasn’t interested in checking this one out either, but like I did, I think you should give it a chance
Wow. Such a high score. For a film I expected to be a total chick flick. Guess this means I should get around to seeing it….
You can’t call a great movie a “chick flick”, it’s more than that 🙂
Great review! It’s interesting to read how hype really attracted people to see this movie. Not sure if I could be considered a John Green fangirl, but having read the book before the movie, I didn’t know how the overwhelming amount of hype was going to effect my reaction to the adaptation. I’m happy it didn’t in the end but easily the expectations could’ve ruined what is essentially a refreshing young adult movie.
Thank you Katy. It wasn’t the hype which attracted me, it was more the other way around until I saw reviews for it. Definitely a refreshing young adult movie 🙂
Glad you decided to give this one a go. The book is great but it’s an extremely faithful adaptation. 🙂 (T9M from CPD) 😉