THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Casts :
 Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace Lancaster
 Lily Kenna as Younger Hazel Grace Lancaster
 Ansel Elgort as Augustus Waters
 Nat Wolff as Isaac
 Laura Dern as Frannie Lancaster
 Sam Trammell as Michael Lancaster
 Willem Dafoe as Peter van Houten
 Lotte Verbeek as Lidewij Vliegenthart
 Mike Birbiglia as Patrick

Directed by Josh Boone

 Wyck Godfrey
Produced by  Marty Bowen

 Scott Neustadter
Screenplay by  Michael H. Weber

The Fault in Our Stars

Based on
by John Green

 Mike Mogis
Music by  Nate Walcott

Cinematography Ben Richardson

Edited by Robb Sullivan
 Fox 2000 Pictures
Production  Temple Hill Entertainment
company  TSG Entertainment

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

 May 16, 2014 (Seattle International Film Festival)

Release date  June 6, 2014 (United States)

Running time 126 minutes

Country United States
Orientation :
Hazel Grace Lancaster is an intelligent and witty teenager living in Indianapolis, who has
terminal thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. Believing she is depressed, her mother
Frannie urges her to attend a weekly cancer patient support group to help her make friends
with individuals who are going through the same thing. There Hazel meets Augustus Waters, a
charming teenager who lost a leg from bone cancer but has since been cancer-free. He invites
Hazel to his house where they bond over their hobbies and agree to read each other's favorite
book. Hazel recommends An Imperial Affliction, a novel about a cancer-stricken girl named
Anna that parallels her experience, and Augustus gives Hazel Counter Insurgence. They keep in
touch via text over the weeks that follow and grow closer. After Augustus finishes the book, he
expresses frustration with its abrupt ending (it ends in the middle of a sentence). Hazel explains
that the novel's mysterious author, Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe), retreated to Amsterdam
following the novel's publication and has not been heard from since.

Weeks later, Augustus tells Hazel he has traced Van Houten's assistant, Lidewij, and has
corresponded with Van Houten by email. She writes to him to find out more about the novel's
ambiguous ending. Van Houten replies that he is only willing to answer her questions in person.
Hazel asks her mother if she can travel to Amsterdam to visit him, but Frannie refuses because
of financial and medical constraints. Augustus suggests that she use the "cancer wish" she
received from Make-A-Wish Foundation but Hazel explains that she has already used hers to
visit Disney World. Augustus and Hazel go on a picnic date and begin to fall in love. Augustus
surprises Hazel with tickets to Amsterdam. After a medical setback, Hazel's doctors eventually
agree to allow the trip, since they expect that she will soon become incapable of doing anything
at all.

Hazel and Augustus arrive in Amsterdam and are presented with reservations at an expensive
restaurant, pre-paid by Van Houten. During the meal, Augustus confesses his love for Hazel. The
following afternoon, they go to Van Houten's house, but are shocked to find he is a mean-
spirited alcoholic. Lidewij arranged the meeting and their dinner without Van Houten knowing
anything about it. Angered by his assistant's actions, he taunts Hazel for seeking serious
answers to a piece of fiction and belittles her medical condition. She leaves, utterly distraught.
Lidewij invites them to go sightseeing to make up for their ruined experience. The three visit
the Anne Frank House, where Hazel struggles to climb the house's many stairs. They spend that
night together in their hotel and have sex for the first time. The next day Augustus tells Hazel
that his cancer has returned and spread throughout his body and is terminal. Hazel is
heartbroken, expressing how unfair life can be.

After their return to Indianapolis, Augustus' health worsens. He is taken to the ICU and realizes
he is close to death. Augustus invites his blind best friend Isaac and Hazel to his pre-funeral,
where they deliver eulogies that they have both prepared. Hazel tells him she would not trade
their short time together for anything, since he "gave me a forever within the numbered days."
Augustus dies eight days later and Hazel is astonished to find Van Houten at the funeral. He
tells her that Augustus had demanded he attend his funeral to make up for the spoiled trip. Van
Houten tells her that the novel is based on the experiences of his daughter Anna, who died
from leukemia at a young age. He gives Hazel a piece of paper which she crumples up asking
him to leave. Later, talking with Isaac, Hazel learns that Augustus had asked Van Houten to help
him write a eulogy for her. She retrieves the crumpled paper and reads his words accepting his
death and about his love for her. She lies on her back on her lawn looking up at the stars,
smiling as she remembers Augustus and says: "Okay."

Yaaaa
You should probably not see “The Fault in Our Stars” with anyone you’re trying to impress.
You’ll either end up a puffy, sniffling mess of tears, or you’ll finish the movie dry-eyed and convince that
person you’re a psychopath. Those are the only two options. This drama is an outstanding entry in its
sub-genre, sadly dominated to date largely by films like “Love Story” and Nicholas Sparks adaptations.
Based on John Green‘s young adult novel, “The Fault in Our Stars” manages to transcend those films
with solid direction from Josh Boone (“Stuck in Love“), a spot-on script from Scott Neustadter and
Michael H. Weber (“The Spectacular Now“), near-perfect casting, deftly created characters and often
hilarious dialogue that feels closer to vintage Cameron Crowe than Sparks. But “The Fault in Our
Stars” isn’t just a cry-a-minute film for teens looking for an emotional connection beyond
SnapChat, and early on, 17-year-old heroine Hazel Grace Lancaster shares that her story isn’t
like “Say Anything” either. She meets the love of her young life, but it isn’t a typical meet-cute,
and it also isn’t your standard story of illness on screen. Instead, Hazel has been forced by her
mother to attend a support group for kids struggling with cancer, and amidst the platitudes and
inspirational stories, she meets 18-year-old Augustus Waters. They immediately appreciate
each other’s not-always-sunny approach to living with illness. Hazel has thryroid cancer, which
has now taken up residence in her lungs, causing her to wheel a cannister of oxygen with her
wherever she goes. Gus is in remission from osteosarcoma, but the cancer took the former
athlete’s leg. Gus falls fast and hard for Hazel, while she insists on remaining friends to keep
from causing anyone else pain with what she sees as her inevitably unhappy ending.

The two bond over their atypical outlook on their illness, as well as around Hazel’s
favorite book, “An Imperial Affliction.” And we admire Green’s heroine for her wit and
intelligence just as Gus does. It shouldn’t feel revolutionary to have a young female character
with a brain in a film like this, but Hazel is refreshing, even though her exchanges with Gus
sometimes feel a little too scripted and witty to feel realistic. Fans of the book should be happy
with how closely the adaptation hews to Green’s original story. There are small changes and
edits that streamline the narrative, but the book’s heart beats strongly on screen. With their
previous scripts for “The Spectacular Now” and “(500) Days of Summer,” Neustadter and
Weber offered atypical looks at young romance, and “The Fault in Our Stars” fits well with that,
telling a non-standard love story that is bolstered by strong characters.
Those characters are in turn served well by their casting. Woodley is becoming one of the go-tos
for the atypical heroine, and you’ll get no complaints from us. She captures Hazel’s strength and
weakness equally well, playing a complicated, imperfect character who is captivating. We were
also charmed by Elsort’s Gus; if his lines were said by another, less talented actor, we might
have rolled our eyes more than sighed, but that wasn’t the case. Along with Dern’s heartbreaking
efforts as Hazel’s mother, “True Blood” star Sam Trammel holds his own as Hazel’s father. He
is given a little less to do than Dern, but it’s interesting to see what he does when he’s not
surrounded by vampires and werewolves—and we like it. As Hazel and Gus’s only ally at
support group, Nat Wolff (“Palo Alto“) is witty and winning, earning all the more praise for
communicating emotion clearly while wearing sunglasses throughout the film due to his
character’s eye cancer. Comedian and actor Mike Birbiglia makes an all-too-brief, but pitch
perfect appearance as the support group’s leader, Patrick.
“The Fault in Our Stars” wins points for being more complex and stylish than most similar films
feel they need to be. Most movies with this target audience are maudlin and manipulative, but
Boone’s film never feels like it’s trying too hard to win our tears—or our laughter. It’s most
comparable to Jonathan Levine‘s “50/50” in this way; it will leave you feeling like you’ve been
punched in the gut, but it acknowledges that there can be humor even in the worst situations.
There are also some nice stylistic flourishes, particularly around Hazel and Gus’s texts that make
the film feel of the moment, while not being tied to any particular year (or operating system). It’s
an above-average entry into the genre, broadening its appeal beyond just teenagers, fans of the
original novel and those who love a good cry. That said, don’t say we didn’t warn you; make
your grandmother proud and stuff your pockets with tissues before you see this. [B+]