Smash Cut Review already published a wonderful review of The Fault In Our Stars which pretty much says everything about why the film not only didn’t disappoint, but also exceeded expectations. But as someone who attended The Night Before Our Stars event, I feel I have a unique perspective on the film which I hope to bring you with this review thing. I say “review thing” because I’m pretty sure this will end up being more the ramblings of a crazed madman/fan of the movie, partially in list form, than an actual review. But I promise if it is anything, it will be entertaining- just like The Fault in Our Stars was.
THIS SERVES AS A WARNING- SINCE THIS IS A COLLECTION OF MY THOUGHTS AND RAMBLINGS AFTER HAVING JUST SEEN THE FILM, IT WILL CONTAIN MANY, MANY SPOILERS ABOUT THE PLOT AND ENDING OF THE FILM. YOU HAVE BEEN DULY WARNED:
5 scenes that made me cry
- The trophy scene- First to the one’s that made me cry happy tears. This scene in particular made me laugh harder than I have in any movie since This Is The End’s credits scene (you know the one). Shailene and Ansel keeping a constant serious conversation going as Nat Wolff exacts carnage just off-screen was perhaps my favorite moment in the whole movie. Extra props to Nat as he keeps screaming “ALWAYS” while he slams the trophies into the wall.
- The scene near the end in which Hazel confronts her mom about hearing her say she would no longer be a mom, and her mother saying “I will always be your mom,” and then admitting that she had been taking classes for social work. Happy tears everywhere.
- The pre-funeral scene. I’m not sure a single scene has been adapted from a book that perfectly ever before. More on this later
- Though I surprisingly didn’t cry during the scene in which Hazel finds out Augustus has passed away, I did cry quite a bit at the scene in which Augustus calls Hazel from the gas station near death. This is by far Ansel Elgort’s best scene in the film, and it is emotionally gripping as he slams his hand into the steering wheel and shouts that he hates himself for his weakness.
- The obvious choice for the final time I cried, the final scene in which a voiceover of Augustus eulogizes Hazel left me an emotional wreck. While so much of that final scene was taken directly from the book, I believe it is Shailene Woodley’s performance as she lays in the grass in a stunning white dress (which subtly refers back to John Green’s marriage-referencing ending) to look at the stars that sells the beautiful closing of the film.
Things I Loved:
1. The film’s score and Original Soundtrack- The film is impeccably scored with swells and emotional resonance at the perfect moments, emotionally impactful songs punctuating emotive acting performances, and carefully selected songs enhancing the cinematography of the film. Really the only misstep is a song that is far too high in the mix as the film shows off aerial shots of Amsterdam for the first time.
2. Nat Wolff, Nat Wolff, Nat Wolff- It’s hard-impossible nearly- to believe that this nineteen-year-old who holds the comic center of this film together was once the lead vocalist of the Nickelodeon-pop act The Naked Brothers Band. I don’t see any of the Jonas Brothers with this masterful a comedic performance. He transforms the character of Isaac from a blubbering mess to a triumphant, witty sidekick. I wish he had more screen time, but blame that on John Green. I can’t wait to see what he does with Quentin’s character in the Paper Towns adaptation.
3. Everything about the pre-funeral scene- in which Isaac and Hazel read their eulogies to Augustus. It was so charming to see all three actors both tearing up and laughing together. You can tell that these actors truly came to love each other, and it’s apparent as they sit there in The Literal Heart of Jesus, reenacting that wonderful scene from the books to a T- almost word for word even.
4. Mike Birbiglia- Dude is just straight up hilarious. He nails Patrick, and despite only probably 2 minutes max of screen time became one of my favorite parts of the film. His deadpanning Christian songs on an acoustic guitar had me rolling.
Things I Didn’t Like:
- The Crowd- First of all, it was definitely skewed female and very young. The “squeezing” was palpable every time Hazel Grace and Augustus did something semi-romantic on screen- especially at the first moment in which Ansel Elgort’s Augustus appears on screen as he bumps into Hazel. Second, the crowd was downright disrespectful at times, talking loudly during quiet moments of the film.
- One particular line that was omitted that I wish was left in: Gus telling Hazel Grace near the end of his life, “You used to call me Augustus.” In John Green’s books “What’s in a name” is a recurring theme, and that theme is obviously present in The Fault In Our Stars as well- as Augustus deliberately calls Hazel “Hazel Grace” despite her assertion that it’s “Just Hazel.” In the book, when Augustus says the above line to Hazel, it’s in that moment that you realize how frail Gus has become. His delusions of grandeur, which have led him to introducing himself with his full, regal sounding name, have been stripped from him as his health deteriorates, and even the person who thought of him as larger than life, Hazel, calls him by the child-like name “Gus” near the end. That line in the film would’ve really helped to characterize Augustus as he headed towards death.
- I still think having Augustus and Hazel share their first kiss at the Anne Frank House is a little overwrought with sentimentality and a bit insensitive- comparing the love of two kids with terminal disease to the desire to stay alive in a Holocaust is a little too farfetched a comparison. I understand why John Green did it originally, I just don’t know if I necessarily agree with it.
- I know it’s dumb to nitpick things like this, but I particularly loved that Hazel instinctively knows in the book that Augustus wrote his number in the copy of CounterInsurgence he lent her- this playfulness at the early stages of their relationship were forsaken for wistful shots of Hazel looking at her phone waiting for Augustus to call her- which I felt was unfair to Hazel’s characterization in the book.
Changes they made to the film that I liked:
- Changing the last line “I do” which was obviously supposed to be a reference to the wedding Gus and Hazel would never have, to the much more relevant “okay, okay” which really epitomizes Gus and Hazel’s relationship made for a much more poignant ending to the film. The story’s ending still isn’t perfect, but that simple line change makes it much closer to being right than it was.
- I know I spoke before of and omission from the book that hurt Augustus’ character, but I want to speak about one change the film made that I think benefitted Augustus’ character, or at least Ansel Elgort’s portrayal of the character. In the book, the pre-Amsterdam scene involves Hazel and her mom pulling up to Augustus’ house as he yells at his mother- simultaneously giving away the book’s twist. In the film, they switched this to Augustus pulling up to the Lancaster’s residence in a limo, head out the sunroof and cigarette in mouth. Not only does this preserve the bombshell of the film’s twist, but it also helps to signify Augustus’s showmanship and penchant for grand gestures.
- Part of the duty of a great adapted screenplay is cutting the fat from a novel in order to fit the story into a neat two hour story arc. Two cuts that Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber made for the film that ended up making the story line much more concise and linear were: the removal of Augustus’ dead ex-girlfriend Caroline from the story, and the combination of the two post-Amsterdam Peter Van Houten scenes-the second of which fixes the farfetched ending of the novel. The removal of Caroline keeps the focus directly on Hazel and Gus’ relationship and makes Gus more sympathetic as he wasn’t solely interested in Hazel because he saw her as a ghost of his ex originally. You don’t need Caroline to exist to understand why Hazel feels she is a “grenade.” The later Van Houten scenes being combined to one in Hazel’s car after the funeral clear up what was one of the dumber parts of the ending of the novel. In the novel, Van Houten had received correspondence from Augustus in his dying days that he must attend Augustus’ funeral, but Van Houten had not received the all-important letter from Augustus with Hazel’s eulogy. In the film, he did in fact receive the letter with Augustus’ eulogy to Hazel, and delivers it to Hazel at the funeral. This clears up why Van Houten would’ve received some letters from Augustus, but not all of them, and also makes the transition from the funeral to the film’s ending with Augustus’ voiceover of the eulogy much more streamlined.
I hope you enjoyed the film as much as I did, but if you didn’t what do you think they could’ve done better? I’d be interested in hearing what you think, or even seeing what you loved, hated, or thought was done better or worse than the book?
