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 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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Jun 19, 2014 12:11
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 11:10 |
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