Few Faults in These Stars
By Sophie Panzer
716/800
My expectations going into The Fault in Our Stars could not have been lower. Shots from the movie trailer depicted a corny love story with none of the complexity or nuance of John Green’s best-selling novel of the same title. But maybe nuance just doesn’t fit into two-minute previews, because I was pleasantly surprised.
This is the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, played by Shailene Woodley, and Augustus Waters, played by Ansel Elgort. Hazel is a sixteen year old with thyroid cancer and Augustus is a seventeen year old who lost a leg to osteosarcoma. They meet at a hilariously depressing support group for cancer patients, which takes place in a church basement. This setting is referred to as “the literal heart of Jesus,” by the hilariously depressing support group leader, Patrick, played by Mike Birbiglia. After an initial interaction where Hazel suggests brusquely that Augustus get over his fear of oblivion because everyone is going to die someday, the two bond over books, movies, their own wittiness, and their experiences with cancer.
Other notable characters include Isaac, played by Nat Wolff. Isaac is a sardonic regular at support group whose eye cancer eventually causes him to go blind. Laura Dern and Sam Trammel play Hazel’s parents, who are funny and functional despite the fact that, according to Hazel, “The only thing worse than biting it from cancer is having a kid who bites it from cancer.” Dern and Trammel balance the lightheartedness of everyday experiences with Hazel with the horrific ever-present sadness of having a dying daughter.
Moments like Hazel’s visit to Gus’s house referred to in the book as the “night of the broken trophies”, and the egging of Isaac’s ex-girlfriend’s car showcase the incredible chemistry among Woodley, Elgort, and Wolff. These scenes are among the best in the movie not just because they are well-acted and funny but because they show the characters’ emotional depth and complexity beyond the two-dimensional roles of cancer victims.
Despite the fact that Woodley and Elgort are in their early 20s, their performances as teenagers are made more convincing by shots designed to subtly showcase their characters’ vulnerability and childlike characteristics. A layer of baby fat under Elgort’s chin is exposed when Gus gazes adoringly down at Hazel. Woodley’s smile is unselfconscious and seems too big for her face.
The movie adheres closely to the novel, right down to the text message conversations between Hazel and Augustus. Director Josh Boone deserves credit for skillfully handling scenes that are precariously balanced on the dividing line between emotional and corny in the book. The cheesiness of some moments was unavoidable - particularly the romantic ones that take place when the couple travels to Amsterdam to visit their favorite writer, Peter Van Houten, using Augustus’s wish from the Genie Foundation. But even the most cynical viewer will smile when Augustus rolls up in a limo with his metaphorically resonant unlit cigarette between his lips to take Hazel and her mother to the airport.
But there is a reason that the floor of the movie theater was carpeted with tissues by the time the credits rolled. Stars is designed to be a tearjerker, and although it has some overwhelmingly sweet and funny moments, it does not romanticize the fact that the main characters have cancer. Both the movie and book are primarily devoted to showcasing the truth about how the victims of this disease defy cliches of the courageous fighters who battles to the end, never losing their personality, their sense of humor, or the love of the people around them.
Augustus’s decline is heartbreaking because he wants so badly to be a hero, someone who other people can rely on to save the day. As the reality of his limitations becomes clear with the progression of his disease, he desperately tries to fight against his weakness and dependence on others. We see the pain, vulnerability, shame, and self-loathing that accompanies the loss of independence in characters who under normal circumstances would be coming of age, setting out to forge their own paths and craft their own lives. The true tragedy lies not in the physical pain and death caused by cancer (although there is certainly plenty of tragedy to go around there) but in the robbing of the characters’ fundamental teenage rights.
Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort in The Fault in Our Stars, commonly referred to by fans as "tfios".
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