Young Love in Numbered Days

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2014)

I read the book by John Green in one morning. It was a quick read, but it was uncomfortable to read in its sadness. This novel was about the love story between two cancer-stricken teenagers. I am surprised it was a bestseller given the book's topic seemed so morose and upsetting for the young adults that it targets. While it had its effective moments, the book had a language that tended to be rather indulgent and unrealistic given the age of its teen protagonists.
The film is a very faithful adaptation of its source novel. It is so faithful that the faults of the book also become its faults. The film is two hours and ten minutes long. It felt too long, sometimes wallowing too much in its own misery. Luckily, the dialog in the film's script were more believably teenage. I enjoyed the delightful animation used to show us the text messages between the two lovers. The wonderful soundtrack consisted of cool songs by Ed Sheeran and several other indie-type musicians. This type of music highly complemented the film's youthful angst.
Also, the film benefits from the earnest performances from its main cast. Shailene Woodley has a malleable face, not too perfectly pretty or distinct, just right for portraying a wide array of characters. She was really very effective as Hazel Grace, given that this was such a difficult part to play, demanding both physically and emotionally. Ansel Elgort had the charisma required to play her ideal boyfriend, Augustus. The unbelievable perfection of his character as written becomes his limitation as actor.
Ironically, for me the best parts of the book did not materialize that well on screen. These were their Dutch-motif picnic in the park and their heart-to-heart talk about the new PET scan result. The way Ansel Elgort delivered his lines in these two important scenes were not clear enough to create the welling dramatic impact they did in the book. The script did not even include that highly-emotional moment towards the end when there was dead silence after a recording of a beloved voice invited to leave a voice mail.
Overall, I think this film is good to watch depending on your mood. It can give you a good cry if you let it, though I thought the book might be more effective a tearjerker than the film. The best thing about this film is seeing Woodley and Elgort together as Hazel and Gus. The both of them had captured so well the essential chemistry of these two star- crossed lovers as described in the book, and this saves the film from being too depressing.