Fault in Our Stars, The (2014) [Blu-ray]
Drama | Romance

Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) share a sarcastic sense of humor, a distaste for the conventional, and ultimately a love that sweeps them on an unforgettable journey. Although the two teens face unlikely challenges, their courage and dedication to each other prove that while life isn't perfect, love can still be extraordinary. Laura Dern (Little Fockers) and Sam Trammell (TV's True Blood ) also star in this powerfully moving film based on John Green's New York Times best-selling novel.

Storyline: Hazel and Augustus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they meet and fall in love at a cancer support group. Written by Anonymous

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, September 17, 2014 -- Burgeoning romance doomed by fatal illness has been a cinematic trope since celluloid first danced in front of an illuminating lamp. We may be well into the HD video age now, but scrappy lovers eking out some semblance of happiness even as their imminent mortality threatens their every waking moment has lost none of its handkerchief moistening appeal, at least if The Fault in Our Stars is any indication. Will the buzz about Shailene Woodley's performance continue long enough to net her an Academy Award nomination, where she'll follow in the august footsteps of such "not quite dead yet" actresses as Greta Garbo (Camille) or Ali MacGraw (Love Story)? While at least some of The Fault in Our Stars will strike curmudgeons as hopelessly pretentious, there's no denying the emotional pull of watching a slightly snarky teenager overcome her innate reserve to reach out and touch another cancer survivor, with true love blossoming despite the dearth of chances for an honest to goodness happily ever after. Based on a Number 1 bestselling book by YouTube vlogging sensation John Green, The Fault in Our Stars focuses on the sweet relationship between Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), two teens afflicted with the Big C who meet each other at a support group. While both seem to look askance at the silliness of some aspects of the support group itself, they find in each other a rare bond, one which helps them to cope with their diseases. The film follows several "doomed romance" tropes, but it does so winningly most of the way, highlighted by two standout performances by the young stars.

Via some trenchant voiceover narration, Hazel lets us in on the fact that this is not going to be a typical tale of good triumphing over evil, or perhaps more appropriately, health triumphing over illness. And yet, The Fault in Our Stars is almost defiantly traditional, at least within the confines of this strange little subgenre of romantic fiction. Like many heroines apparently dying from terminal diseases, Hazel is smart, funny, beautiful and (an absolute prerequisite) spunky. Also like many heroines in this niche, she manages to literally bump into an incredibly cool, good looking, athletic, smart, funny and (an absolute prerequisite) charming young man named Augustus Waters. Augustus? Really? Teenage female hearts may be fluttering, but old fuddy duddies (let alone old male fuddy duddies) may be rolling their eyes.

Hazel is in a very real sense a 21st century take on Jenny from Love Story, minus perhaps the penchant for swearing like a sailor. While there's no class subtext here like there was in Erich Segal's book, Hazel is, like her progenitor, a powerful young woman who does not suffer fools gladly and whose verbal acuity tends to help her keep people at a distance. The Fault in Our Stars quite nicely details Gus' (thankfully he uses a nickname) ability to cut through Hazel's BS and get to the heart of the matter.

That heart turns out to be tied into an enigmatic book about a young cancer victim which has become an obsession with Hazel, and which Hazel foists on Gus. Gus manages to make contact with the reclusive author (think J.R. Salinger, only less accessible), who it turns out is living in Amsterdam. Because Gus is everything true and noble in young adult romantic fiction, he is able to finagle a trip to Amsterdam so that he and Hazel can meet Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe).

That gives The Fault in Our Stars a certain "quest" aspect, though what really moves this picture (and in turn is most moving about it), are the intimate conversations between Hazel and Gus. These two characters are forced to confront death, and while Hazel's seeming bravado and nihilism perhaps help her to maintain a facade of steeliness, it's more than apparent how her relationship with Gus causes her to reevaluate her feelings. Without spoiling one of the central conceits of the film (for the two or three of you who don't already know), Hazel's predicament turns out to be almost a sidebar to other tragedy. Like I said, have your Kleenex ready.

Performances here are superb from top to bottom. While Woodley has come in for the lion's share of critical accolades, for my money it's Elgort who repeatedly walks away with individual scenes. He makes Gus a living, breathing character, something that's probably harder than it looks since Green has written a hero who is frankly simply too good to be true.

The Fault in Our Stars is frankly better than it really has any right to be. This is a film that wears its beating, bleeding heart quite proudly on its cinematic sleeve, and both Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (adapting Green's novel) and director Josh Boone go for the emotional jugular from the first moment, rarely letting go for the next two hours-plus. There's no real emotional roller coaster ride here, since this is pretty much a one way ticket down into depressive depths, but the remarkable thing about the film is how it actually ends up celebrating resilience in the face of unimaginable trauma. It may not be a happy ending, but it's probably the best that can be hoped for considering the magnitude of the problem.

Is The Fault in Our Stars almost infuriatingly manipulative? Yes. Does that mean it's not effective? No. People going into this kind of film usually know what they're in for, and that includes a welling of tears and probably the unwanted accretion of mucus, but that's part of the package, isn't it? Even those with hearts made of stone will probably experience at least a minor lump in the throat as Hazel and Gus wend their way toward an expectedly bittersweet conclusion. Just have a box of Kleenex handy and everything will be a lot easier to handle. Technical merits here are strong, and The Fault in Our Stars comes Highly recommended.

[CSW] -3.8- I don't not usually like emotional romantic movies but this movie was different. It shows that anyone can fall in love no matter what the circumstances. This movie is also inspirational because they both have challenges that they are trying to overcome. The dialogue is just witty enough to be hold interest but not so witty as to seem cute or as an attempt to hide the tragicness of their situation. It really comes as close to acceptance without hopelessness as any dialogue could be. There are enough plot twists to keep this from being formulistic. With it all leading to a well thought out emotional romantic movie that is well worth seeing.
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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