If John Green‘s bestselling book The Fault In Our Stars left you in tears, be sure to grab a few boxes of tissues before seeing the film adaptation. On May 3rd, Rebecca Meyer ’15 and I waited in line for eight hours to attend a fan screening of The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS).
Personally, I was not very impressed with the first trailer, so my expectations for the movie were not very high. However, after watching the movie, I was more than pleasantly surprised — I was completely blown away by how incredible the transformation from book to movie was. While the fact that John Green was on set almost every day may have helped enhance the accurateness, the director, Josh Boone, along with the cast of actors, certainly did a fantastic job of bringing to life the story’s characters.
Do not fret, Fault Fanatics, the movie almost exactly follows the book. While there are obviously some minor changes, as I reread the book, I could picture almost every scene from the movie. Of course, I was skeptical at first as to how the actors would be able to pull off such interesting, complex characters, but I was speechless as I left the theater.
Before I saw the film, Shailene Woodley was simply another Hollywood actress. But during TFIOS, she became Hazel Grace Lancaster. Never again will I look at her as the pregnant 15 year-old from The Secret Life of the American Teenager. As the movie progressed, I was increasingly more impressed with her performance. Woodley even made the climax of the story as intense as in the book. In fact, the entire movie felt so real.
Similarly, Nat Wolff (Isaac) will no longer be a guy from yet another boy band. Though he was only in several scenes, they are certainly very memorable. He was able to evoke sobs, laughs, and everything in between from the audience. Whether he was throwing eggs, smashing trophies, or crying, Nat Wolff demonstrated his ability as a serious actor.
On the other hand, before TFIOS, I had never heard of Ansel Elgort (Augustus Waters). But after seeing this movie, he is someone I am not likely to forget. His portrayal of Gus caused the whole movie theater of teenage girls (and their mothers) to swoon over him. Everyone in that movie theater was in love with Augustus Waters by the time they left. The cute and perfect moments between Gus and Hazel from the book were even cuter to see on screen, and the sad scenes were even more tear-jerking. The movie flawlessly captured the essence of the book and brought it to life on the big screen.
To the general public, The Fault In Our Stars comes into theaters June 6th, so go buy your tickets and some tissues before they are all sold out!
And now, here is an exclusive video of John Green, Josh Boone, and Nat Wolff introducing the movie at the premiere.