Time for a slightly different post! It's time to talk about a film. To be fair, I am quite surprised that I haven't done a single post ranting about a film (or tv series) considering that it is a part of my university degree. So here it is - my first film review type thing. To start off - this is just my opinion. You may have thought something completely different of the film.. That's cool. This is just my personal idea of what I liked and didn't like about the film. Now before I really begin my review (sorry for the long rambling introduction here guys... I can't help ma self) I cannot stress enough how you should read the book before you see the film! I know everyone says that about cinematic adaptations of books.. "The book is so much better... Make sure you read the book first, it's really good!" But seriously... Please please do yourself as well as me a favour and read the book first. Yah?
I won't be going into major details about actual things that happen in the film as I don't wanna risk spoiling anything or anyone (*cough* read the book first *cough*) so I will stick to a more general review. The first thing I would sincerely like to high five the casting directors for is the choice of actor playing Augustus Waters. For those of you who have read the book, you will probably understand what I mean when I say that I pretty much fell in love with this character. No.. Not in the OMG EDWARD CULLEN IS MY SOULMATE kinda way. This character is so beautifully and genuinely written as well as acted out by Ansel Elgort that you actually feel like you could fall deeply in love with him.. even though he is fictional... does that make me lame?
Overall I thought the film did a brilliant job in capturing the story John Green is telling in his amazing book and it also truly transports the essence of these wonderful characters from the page to screen. However, having said that... I am a little sad about the amount of dialogue that was left out of the film. The witty dialogue is one of the best things about the book and I wish they could have included a little bit more of that in the film. I completely understand that it is difficult to compress an entire book into a film without making it way too long (I took an Adaptation module this year.. You guys probably can't tell from this haha) but the dialogue is just so brilliant.
In general I thought the casting of the characters was on point. Finding actors for an adaptation can sometimes be one of the hardest parts, especially when the source material has a fan base like the one TFIOS has. They are some dedicated people. For serious. And I think the film did that perfectly. I actually felt like the characters had jumped off the page and taken human form. Nicely done movie people. The chemistry between Hazel and Gus in the film is exquisite as it shows the awkward but honest young love they have. Although the cast was perfect I felt like there were some characters that deserved a little more attention such as Hazel's dad and Gus' parents. In the book they have some small moments and bits of dialogue I wish they had included in the film.
When going to watch the film please be prepared to feel some serious emotions - you will laughing a lot but you will also most likely shed a tear or two. To be honest I thought I would be all Kim Karadashian ugly crying but to my surprise I wasn't. Obviously there were tears (no where close to some of the girls in the cinema I was in - there were actual breathless hysterical crying fits going on around me.. Intense stuff) but I was really just touched by the story - it really is a beautifully heartbreaking love story. What I also love about this story is that it can be for all ages, it's not just a book/film aimed at teenagers.
Now that I have been nagging you guys to read the book before watching the film (seriously, please do it) I just thought I would clarify.. The Fault In Our Stars is not one of those films where you have to read the book in order to keep up with the film. You could easily watch the movie without having read the book and be moved by it. The reason I am emphasising the book so much is because it is so wonderfully written (John Green you are a genius. Thank you thank you thank you) and I want everyone to experience it. I have introduced it to a couple of people and some of them have read it twice within four days. The way John Green writes the characters, events and emotions is beautiful. I honestly don't know how else to describe it.
I am in no way trying to say that the film isn't good - it is, it does bring the story to life. However, I am urging everyone to read the book and then watch the film because you will gain a much deeper love and passion for the story. I am not saying you have to be a hardcore fangirl level lover of the book to like the film. What I am trying to say is that John Green, in his book, digs deep into the hearts and souls of these characters like no film ever could. That's pretty much the case with any book to film adaptation to be honest. It's just more so the case with this adaptation.
Sorry for the repetitive ranting - I am going to stop rambling now before I start boring you guys. I hope this was a post you enjoyed reading and found interesting *cough* please read the book first *cough*.
It's a good life.
Much love,
Caroline
