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Vegetable
Oct 22, 2010


Somebody thought this tagline was a good idea

The Fault in Our Stars features the story of two teenagers brought together by their experiences of cancer. It stars Shailene Woodley, a real up-and-comer with excellent performances in The Spectacular Now and The Descendants, as Hazel Grace Lancaster and Ansel Elgort, a relative unknown who has played alongside Woodley in Divergent, as Augustus Waters. Yeah, ridiculous names, I know. Supporting them are Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell and Willem Dafoe.





Let me start by saying I appreciate that this film wasn't a sobfest. It is centered on dying, but not the tears that Hollywood has come to associate with it. Our dying characters are not merely succumbing to their illnesses; they are reading, chatting, and loving, acts that resist the imminence of death. They juggle their existential crisis with their relationships with parents, the advice of doctors, and the disappointment of idols, each showing them as active participants in the process of dying. Some of the love scenes are cloying and soppy (the kiss scene in Anne Frank's attic was entirely bewildering), but setting them aside I think I saw a solid film. More importantly, I think it's a positive film for teenagers. If they're going to watch two beautiful people make winky eye at each other, might as well send a good message about how to live while dying.

There's also some quality to the direction, with several scenes selling heartbreak really well. In the part where Hazel's mum tells her that they can't afford Amsterdam, the guilt comes through without words, and you see her face turn into a wreck momentarily as she leaves the room. Similarly, when Gus is somberly telling Hazel about his illness at the bench, they cut to Hazel's face and back to Gus, which doesn't show him crying but now with tears on his jacket lapel. It's this subtlety that helps make this film heart-wrenching without being tear-jerking.

Shailene Woodley, by the way, is shaping to be quite an actor. I found her role here and in The Spectacular Now to be fairly similar, and would be excited to see her break into something very different.

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItBvH5J6ss

Vegetable fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Jun 19, 2014

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Comstar
Apr 20, 2007

Are you happy now?
My girlfriend dragged me along to it. A good movie. I cried.

SHISHKABOB
Nov 30, 2012

Fun Shoe
My fourteen year old sister tried to get me to read the book but it was too sad and I couldn't take it.

swampland
Oct 16, 2007

Dear Mr Cave, if you do not release the bats we will be forced to take legal action
I only saw the metaphor clip online and it looked like absolute garbage but I guess I'm not really the target audience

JoeyTrez
Mar 2, 2014

swampland posted:

I only saw the metaphor clip online and it looked like absolute garbage but I guess I'm not really the target audience

The metaphor thing seemed cheesy in the book, and it was even cheesier in the movie. Most of the first scenes that introduce Augustus come off that way unfortunately, but the movie (in my opinion) is able to shed that fairly quickly. As a non-fan of anything overly romantic or sappy, I really enjoyed the movie.

psyman
Nov 1, 2008
Oh god the trailer for this is excruciating and I keep being subjected to it whenever I go to the movies right now. The Guardian review skewers the film so well:

quote:

You have to concede the laser-guided accuracy and psychotic vehemence with which it goes for the tear duct. It's like being mugged by a professional whose skills in mixed martial arts you can't help but notice and appreciate, even as you are savagely beaten, then dragged upright, bruised and bleeding, and forced to watch as your assailant gives fully 45% of your money to charity.

Cygni
Nov 12, 2005

raring to post

Saw it last night, wasn't awful. The dude wasnt a great actor, and his character is basically the male adaptation of the 'manic pixie dream girl' as she plays the straight woman role. Once I noticed it, it was real hard to unnotice.

If you're a man with a wife/girlfriend, she probably read the book (based on my gal and her friends, anyway) and you should take her. It's at least more engaging than most rom-com type flicks.

Cygni fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Jun 26, 2014

FAGGY CLAUSE
Apr 9, 2011

by FactsAreUseless
Is there a sex scene here I could look forward to? One involving oxygen tanks?

Chieves
Sep 20, 2010

FAGGY CLAUSE posted:

Is there a sex scene here I could look forward to? One involving oxygen tanks?

You joke about that, but kind of.

FAGGY CLAUSE
Apr 9, 2011

by FactsAreUseless
Saw this movie and thought it was predictable. I didn't even really care when the 'tragedy' happened. Not even sure what the gently caress Willem Dafoe was doing.

Clipperton
Dec 20, 2011
Grimey Drawer
No idea what John Green is like as a writer, but as a YouTube personality he's a turd. He doesn't have a cameo in this does he?

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

If you watch this movie in reverse it's the heartwarming tale of someone coming back from the dead because of true love and then being cured of cancer.

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DangerZoneDelux
Jul 26, 2006

drat Four is throwing it down with her bro in this?

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