So little time

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2018)

If you think that The Fault In Our Stars is just another teen romance are you in
for a pleasant surprise. You'd better have a good supply of tissues because this
film involves two very special teens. Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley are a
pair of cancer survivors and they just haven't got very much time.
With Woodley she's come through cancer of the thyroid and she has the breathing
apparatus as just part of her person now. Her parents naturally worry about
over straining herself, but Woodley is determined to lead as active a life as she
can.
At a cancer survivor support group she meets Ansel Elgort who has really made
quite a name for himself since this film came out. Elgort is a former basketball star who lost a leg to cancer. He is so incredibly quirky and charming in this
part I'm surprised he didn't get Oscar consideration.
The two make a trip to Amsterdam to visit an author they admire. Willem Dafoe however has less than meets the eye, still they have a good time. When
they visit the Anne Frank house the symbolism is certainly not lost on the
viewer.
The title is a play on Cassius's famous quote from Julius Caesar about the fault
not lying in our stars but in ourselves. There's no fault here for Woodley an
Elgort. Fate has dealt them a cruel and rotten hand and they have to make the most of it.
I haven't seen a film move me as much since Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. Even a Medusa would be reduced to tears with this one.