What I did know, however, was that I wasn't going to love the film. The trailer had me rolling my eyes at least 7 times (John Green's writing/representation of teenagers has always had me rolling my eyes; I know no one like the characters he writes). While this wasn't a black and white representation of adolescence romance that had been done to death, it seemed utterly pretentious. And though full of emotion, that's pretty much what I got by the end of the film. However, what saves the film from slipping into complete, and utterly reprehensible territory is the charisma of Shailene Woodley, and her remarkably mature performance.
For those of you not familiar with the story, Hazel Grace Lancaster (Woodley) is a 16 year old girl living with a cancer that has weakened her lungs to the point where she has to carry around an oxygen tank like a wheelie backpack. Her mother (Laura Dern, great as always) convinces her to attend a support group for teens with cancer, headed by an insane narcissist who mainly just plays the guitar and needs an excuse to listen to himself talk. It is there, that Hazel meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), who is instantly smitten with her from the moment they meet. Throughout the session, Hazel sees Augustus staring at her, practically undressing her with his eyes. In a moment that was meant to make tween girls melt in their seats, it made me (and several others around me) very uncomfortable.
As if that wasn't enough, Augustus stands up during the group and begins spouting SAT level words in an ego driven monologue about how he lives his life, which comes off as 100% pretentious. Augustus doesn't have cancer, not anymore anyway (he lost a leg to his disease, however he's beaten it), but he attends the group for his friend Isaac (The Naked Brother's Band Nat Wolf, almost unrecognizable). Hazel meets up with him after the session, where he instantly seizes the moment to show her his "metaphor": he puts a cigarette between his teeth, but never lights it which, in his words, "never gives the thing that kills you the power". At this point, I was done with Augustus Waters, but Hazel kept my eyes magnetized to the screen; in a film full of John Green pretension, Woodley's portrayal of a dying girl gives it a grounded, and even heartbreaking nuance. It's unfair that Jennifer Lawrence has been hogging the spotlight for the "breakout it girl" for so long with overly loud performances of women 2 times her age, because Woodley matches her tit for tat, except she doesn't need to amp her acting level up to 11 to do so; she is able to convey level 5 hurricane level acting in simple expressions, and inflections of her voice. Anyone that doubts this statement, I challenge you to revisit 2011's "The Descendants", this girl is a true talent.
What follows is a developing romance between the two teens; Hazel (although apprehensive at first) falls in love with the borderline crazy Augustus, who uses his "Make A Wish" wish to send the two on a trip to Amsterdam, where they meet Hazel's favorite author (played by Willam Dafoe). The film relies heavily on the chemistry and budding romance between the two, and while many young girls (especially in the audience I was in) ate this up with a spoon, I never bought it. While Hazel has obviously lived a sheltered existence because of her crippling disease, I never bought for one second she'd suddenly run away with this reverse "Manic Pixie Girl", spouting metaphors every other second. Not only that, but the film is full of utterly unbelievable moments, which pander to the Twilight/tween girl audience. For instance, Hazel and Augustus share their first make out session in the Anne Frank house, where a group of onlookers begin applauding them. I get that this is a movie, and a suspension of disbelief is required, but the film opens with Hazel promising that "this isn't a story that is sugar coated and can be fixed with a Peter Gabriel song". For a film advertising itself to be grounded and realistic (and dealing with a heavy subject material), it seems really unbelievable.
That being said, the film does have its bright moments, Woodley standing amongst them the tallest. There are several very emotional scenes where I found it hard to keep my eyes dry, and these are the moments that leave me wishing the film surrounding them was as strong. With "Perks of Being A Wallflower" and last year's "The Spectacular Now" (also starring Woodley), teen romance/coming of age films have seen something of a renaissance. Not since the 80's, dominated by John Hughes has the genre seen films with such a breath of fresh realism and heart. This film, however, pales in comparison. It never captures the quiet honesty of what it means to be a teen today; no one, not even adults, talk like the characters in John Green's stories. Where Perks and Spectacular Now proved honest snapshots into the world of young people, The Fault in Our Stars seems like Green's pretentious, over exaggerated caricature of teenagers.
Grade: C
Oscar Chances: This is waaaaayyyyy too Young Adult genre for the Oscars. However, critics are putting Shailene Woodley and Oscar in the same sentence... after being snubbed for "The Descendants", and receiving raves for "The Spectacular Now" and now this film, methinks her first nomination isn't too far away.. she just needs another role in a prestige project.
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