Review of The Fault in Our Stars (2014) by Xavier C — 15 Apr 2015

Brilliant, just like the book. If I had to find one flaw, it would be a personal one. I didn't like the frequent use of popular licensed songs rather than an original score, but others would, so I can't in good conscience have that affect the rating.

The plot is fantastic. A powerfully tragic story of living with cancer and falling in love is a compelling one. The illnesses of the characters and their romantic relationship took an equally important role in my eyes, and both sides to the story were captivating. The movie did a good job of setting up strong emotional moments by first building a sharp contrast. The tragically realistic outlook of the characters regarding the hardships of their lives, the inevitable fact of their approaching deaths, and even the eventual fate of our entire universe make for a bleak outlook in the beginning. Then, that makes the good times to come seem even grander by comparison. And even after that, when things start to go horribly wrong, the sharp contrast to all the positivity from before tugs right at your heartstrings. Wonderful screenplay and acting as well.

I liked the heavy use of narration. Like any narration in movies, it easily and quickly established a backstory and explained concurrent events in the plot. It was used very well in this film because it was not just for exposition. The style in which Grace narrated gave us a lot on insight on her inner thoughts that helped subtly develop her character. The solid voice work and script also kept it from becoming heavy-handed.

If you are looking for a wonderfully tragic movie, watch this. No competition.