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Watch this if you liked: “The Spectacular Now”, “(500) Days of Summer”, "A Walk To Remember" and "The Notebook"
How do you fall in love and make the most of your days even when it's numbered by cancer? Adapted from acclaimed young adult author John Green's book, the movie's leads Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort who are surprisingly charming, funny and realistically relatable, will make one forget about all other on-screen couples in romance films. A true emotional roller-coaster filled with memorable lines that hits close to the heart again and again, is also pleasantly balanced with plenty of laughs, to save your heart from imploding with sadness, of course.
Although some may compare this film to their favourite contemporary romance movies like "A Walk To Remember", "The Spectacular Now", "(500) Days of Summer" and "The Notebook", those movies are just benchmarks to let audiences know how much more better "The Fault In Our Stars" really is. It is not overtly diabetes inducing sweet or tries hard to be dramatic. It's thankfully void of all romantic corny undertones (which if may be present, are completely intentional due to Elgort's flirty character), but instead it delivers a tale of believable-realistic romance set in an actual world limited by cancer. This is apparent at the very start of the film where 16-year-old thyroid cancer surviving Hazel lets audiences know that her story is not the typical love story you'd expect.
Surprisingly, for a movie that deals so much with cancer, it is equally balanced with a lot of witty humour that'll leave audiences bursting with laughter in their seats thanks to Elgort's character Gus and his best friend Isaac played by Nat Wolff. Watch out for Wolff who is tapped to play the lead in John Green's next movie adaptation, "Paper Towns".
Save to say, for fans, this loyal adaptation of John Green's book, for which Green was present on set at most times to make sure the film would turn just like his book, and to give detailed insight to the actors on their characters; the cast of the film is a perfect blend illustrating different levels of emotions. If you weren't sure about the pairing of Shailene Woodly and Ansel Elgort after their sister-brother role in "Divergent", you'd be surprised at how well the two bounce off lines from each other. Also to look out for is actor Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man"), who plays the couple's favourite author Peter van Houten, who turns out to be quite a snarky recluse.
The true beauty of this film is in its dozens of beautiful metaphors and soul-salving quotes which made the John Green books so perpetually relatable to readers everywhere. So, if you're looking for a film that is deep with meaning, then this is for you. But for what all this melancholy greatness is worth, bringing along your tissues is a must, so don't say we didn't warn you, okay? Okay.
Cinema Online, 24 June 2014