Adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name by John Green, The Fault in Our Stars is one of the most anticipated films of 2014, following the book’s overwhelmingly positive critical reception since its publication in 2012. The film, subtitled “One Sick Love Story,” tells of a brief yet meaningful relationship between two young star-crossed lovers, who are unfortunately diagnosed with cancer.
 
The film opens with 16-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) lying in the grass watching the stars (of course). Hazel is diagnosed with stage IV thyroid cancer that metastasizes to her lungs, causing her to wear a cannula and carry an oxygen tank at all times. Although terminally ill, she’s kept alive by the miracle that is Phalanxifor, a fictional medicine that stops her tumor from growing, but nobody knows for how long. Then limps one-legged Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), a bone cancer survivor in remission, into her life. Believing herself a grenade waiting to blow up, Hazel is reluctant to return Augustus’s affection. But despite her best efforts, it’s the nature of stars to cross. Remembering all they’ve been through, Hazel begins recounting her and Augustus’s epic love story—with no sugarcoating.
 
This, indeed, is how The Fault in Our Stars refreshingly defies the conventions of the “sick flick” genre, of which A Walk to Remember (2002) is a classic example. Unlike its predecessors, Fault doesn’t beautify sick people, romanticize illness or glorify dying. Cancer isn’t ennobled as a blessing; it’s acknowledged to be a “side effect of evolution.” It’s a fault in their stars, an unfortunate destiny that doesn’t have to have any reasons or teach any lessons. Hazel and Gus understand this. From the giddiness of teenage love to heart-wrenching moments of weakness, Fault presents the truth of life in its hard-hitting gore and glory.
 
But to say it’s a mere sad film would be greatly misleading. Fault owes so much of its success to its two main characters and their relentless irresistible charms. Wondrously wise and witty, the lovebirds lend a light-hearted tone to the serious subject matter without resorting to oversimplification. Woodley’s performance as Hazel is utterly amazing, and though he inevitably pales slightly in comparison, Elgort also pulls off the pretentious, self-aggrandizing Gus. Their chemistry as lovers works so well that we forget they played siblings in Divergent
 
However, as much as we love the characters, their tendency to break off into grand soliloquies of philosophical pondering and existential concerns feels somehow too unnatural and well-scripted to take place in two teenagers’ spontaneous conversations. On the one hand, it disengages us from fully immersing ourselves in the story; but on the other, we enjoy the gorgeous quotes. That said, Fault successfully juggles humor and heartache without compromising the integrity of either, rendering itself more than just a sad and sickly sob story.
Author: 
Patpicha Tanakasempipat
Editor's Rating: 
Opening Date: 
Thursday, July 24, 2014
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