Enjoyable

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2014)

Teenage terminal cancer sufferer Hazel, attending a support group under protest, meets the sparky, entertaining and attractive Gus, also a cancer sufferer, but in remission. The two of them find much to like in each other, and emotions grow.
I haven't read the book on which this film was based. Taken solely on its own merits, it is a rather likable and entertaining take on a very serious subject as it tries to draw a distinction between, one one hand, who people are and, on the other, the handicaps under which they may live. The performances are universally good: the quality comes in little moments, well-written, which give the actors a chance to shine (for me, the best of these was the moment when Gus' supreme self-confidence cracks when Grace is about to see his amputated leg for the first time). Shailene Woodley as Grace gives another great performance, of a quality able to carry the film (albeit she doesn't need to due to very able support by Ansel Elgort as Gus). Woodley has the quality of being both beautiful and ordinary at the same time, which makes her a compelling screen presence, and the fact that she can act doesn't hurt, either.
A film about teenagers with terminal cancer is never going to have a conventionally happy ending, but this film does well by a) delivering a positive ending, b) entertaining us throughout, c) giving us some surprises along the way, and d) playing fair with its subject matter. If I had one criticism, it would be that ugly people get cancer, too.
I left the cinema dry-eyed, but I suspect that many may not.