Ultimate tragic romance

Rating: 8/10 (7 September 2014)

Director Josh Boone took on the challenging and all-too-common theme of young, tragic love with The Fault in Our Stars - so he had better get it right - and he did. In fact, it's refreshingly one of the best if not the best attempt at capturing this difficult and emotionally swept up idea in film. Hats off to stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort who add a truly beautiful, touching and sentimental movie to their portfolios. Waterworks guaranteed.
Woodley plays Hazel - a 17 year old girl who's already running on borrowed time. Her devoted parents (Laura Dern and Sam Trammell) try to manage; having dealt with their daughter's illness since she was 13 and their longtime weariness shows empathetically on their faces. Life lacks luster for young Hazel whose situation is pretty grim. Mom and Dad send her to a support group for teens with cancer - and it's there that she catches the eye of Augustus (Ansel Elgort). He's also been struck with an affliction that has taken part of his leg; although when he meets Hazel he is currently in remission. He's adoringly innocent, playful and forever charming - and completely smitten with Hazel. She's cautious per her situation, but ultimately can't help but fall wonderfully head over heels for him. It's the value of this relationship that the characters discover and it's their definition of what makes a significant life that is forever altered.
There are some obvious short-cuts to the audience's heartstrings being used in The Fault in Our Stars - let's not deny that - but it's quickly forgiven in this honest and gut-wrenching romance because it's just done so well. The premise allows the teen coupling to be intensified without making it ridiculous. The character's simple lives transpire to a higher plane with love, and their longing for more of what they just can't get is the ultimate tragic romance.