The Fault In Our Stars | Teen Ink

The Fault In Our Stars

June 11, 2014
By Analisa Vizzoni BRONZE, Flemington, New Jersey
Analisa Vizzoni BRONZE, Flemington, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

“That’s the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.”

The Fault In Our Stars, originally a book written by John Green, has been put on the big screen, and there was no fault in that. This movie will pull your heart strings left and right and up and down. One minute you will laugh and the next you will cry. As you watch one of the most sincere onscreen love stories there is, you will feel every emotion as strongly as the characters feel it. Pain is at the center of this love story, and as a viewer there is only one way to deal with it: bring lots of tissues.

Though this movie is supposed a tearjerker, there is a light-hearted aspect to it. It is not only about the pain endured, but it is about celebrating life. As we watch this beautiful love story unfold, we quickly become invested in the emotions and actions of all the characters on the screen in front of us.

Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) has been nothing but terminal since she was thirteen. Now, she is sixteen and finds herself in the “Literal Heart of Jesus” at a cancer kids support group meeting. She dreads nothing more than being there, until one day she bumps into the boy who will change her life forever. Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), the one legged basketball star of his day, has caught the attention of Hazel the minute his eyes caught hers. As if his looks didn’t win her over enough, the moment he opened his mouth to speak, sparks flew all over the room.

The book’s fanbase will be more than happy to know that the movie followed the book almost exactly, thanks to writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. But, they will be even happier to know that the casting of all the roles was spot-on. Shailene Woodley played the role of Hazel Grace so naturally. We can all rejoice knowing that her days from her outbreak television show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, are long gone, and she has grown into a mature and intriguing young actress. Ansel Elgort has his first lead role in a movie playing Augustus Waters. Now, I’ll admit that I was biting my nails nervous to see how his performance would be, and I want everyone to know that there is nothing to be nervous about. Elgort was the perfect fit for Augustus; the role came so easy to him, it almost looked like he wasn’t even acting.

Hazel lets Gus into her world by showing him her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction written by Peter van Houten (Willem Dafoe). They both are distraught by its abrupt ending, and long to know more. Gus and the Make-A-Wish genies arrange for them to go to Amsterdam to meet this reclusive author.

Once they get there, things don’t go exactly as planned. Their encounter with van Houten was not what they expected, and they left without any answers. As upset as we were about that, we quickly got over it once they shared their long awaited first kiss in the Anne Frank House.

The story of their love is nothing short of extraordinary. It is a roller coaster ride that moves you slowly up the hills and brings you down quickly and hard. When everything in their life seemed to be going great, there is a painful plot twist that rocks the happy couple’s world. Hazel and Augustus have to fit an infinity of love within a numbered days, and as a viewer, they will have you wishing for more.



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