"The Fault, Dear Brutus, Lies Not In Our Stars, But In Ourselves..."

Rating: 8/10 (18 September 2015)

The infamous quote from Julius Caesar basically translates: "We make our own fates; the stars don't tell us them." John Green contradicts Shakespeare with his title "The Fault in Our Stars"; he's saying that children diagnosed with cancer, like Hazel and Augustus in the movie, have their fates written in the stars. The title itself demonstrates how intelligent and deep the movie is. Before watching this movie, I didn't know what to think. I was really expecting it to be just another average romance, and I hadn't even known that it was a tragedy. Hazel's opening monologue made it clear that it was, and my expectations immediately changed.
Somehow I've been able to enjoy both the Divergent series and The Fault In Our Stars, despite my dislike for Shailene Woodley. One reason I didn't like her in Divergent is because she was the wrong actress to portray Beatrice Pryor, and I didn't like the character presented in the movie anyway. I can't say for sure whether or not Shailene Woodley was the right choice for Hazel in this movie, but at least she did her best.
The beginning of the movie starts out a little clichéd and uninteresting. Hazel Grace Lancaster goes to a cancer support group, after being forced to by her parents. The support group is at a church, "literally In the Heart of Jesus". The first day is just as bad as she expected. The leader is a complete weirdo, and she's not interested in making friends with any of the other cancer victims. The second day, before even entering the room...she bumps into Augustus Waters, and they both are immediately interested in each other, just like in any every other romance movie. She fixes her hair in the restroom mirror before going into the meeting room, and when the group sits down, all Augustus can do is stare at her. She tries to avoid looking back at him, but it's obvious that she's enjoying the attention she rarely gets. Obviously they become friends, he invites her over, and they borrow each other's books. An Imperial Affliction, a novel about a cancer patient, is the book she gives him, and I don't remember the book that he gave her; it's an irrelevant detail. I don't know what she thinks about his book; I don't recall it ever being mentioned, but after he reads An Imperial Affliction, it's all the two of them can talk about. She has sent the author numerous fan letters, but none of them have been answered. Augustus surprises her by reaching Van Houten's personal assistant, and reads her the letter over phone. Of course, as soon as she can she emails the assistant, and the next thing you know they've been invited to meet him in Amsterdam. After a few complications, they finally get to go to Amsterdam, and they eat out and have a great time at a fancy restaurant. Gus tries to pay for the meal, but the waiter declines. "Your meal has been paid for by Mr. Van Houten." The next day they visit Van Houten (Willem Dafoe), and the visit is quite disappointing. I'm not sure why, I quite enjoyed the (was it Swedish?) hip hop.
The movie turns out to be surprisingly good and meaningful. The dialogue and writing are a couple of the stronger points of movie, and they help a lot in delivering the message. Some of the movie presented dialogue so deep, so trivial, so meaningful, so powerful you can't help thinking about it for days on end. The Fault in Our Stars is an excellent example of a tragedy at its best.
My Official Score: 83/100