There are barely any challenges for them to overcome, apart from Hazel’s reluctance to get too close to Gus and of course the blindingly obvious tragedy to come, making the movie drag towards its inevitable conclusion. With no explanation, Hazel is unnaturally intelligent and cultured for her age, making her appear to be rather pretentious Gus also falling foul of swinging too far past ‘lovable rogue’ and into ‘annoyingly self-assured’.
Such jarringly unrealistic characterisation has the knock on effect of making the characters, oddly, less relatable. There are very few strong emotions from them – anger, frustration, distress, etc – they are simply indifferent and completely accept their fate, begging the question of whether terminal illness really is an essential tool to tell the story, or a more cynical identifier to grab attention and is potentially offensive therefore towards the very audience ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ is claiming to represent. The majority of the movie focuses on the characters while they appear to be healthy. The characters frequently and casually talk about their respective cancer experiences but, as they act no differently to teenagers without the illness, this comes across as more flippant than brave. Sadly, the movie doesn’t quite hit the mark of being truly understanding of young people who suffer from terminal illness. While the teen romance is fairly standard fare, the issues raised are, for the most part, boldly but sensitively handled. Genre: Romance, Drama REVIEW: ‘THE FAULT IN OUR STARS’īased upon the book of the same name by John Green, ’The Fault In Our Stars’ tackles the difficult subject of childhood and teenage cancer. Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern The Fault in Our Stars (2014) – Director: Josh Boone However, the terminal ticking time bomb catches up with them and facing what is coming is harder than either of them imagined. Feeling an instant chemistry, the pair form a friendship which develops as they spend more time together. Pressured into attending a support group by her parents, she meets the dynamic and intriguing Augustus ‘Gus’ Waters. The Fault in our Stars – Hazel Lancaster is sixteen years old and has terminal cancer.