THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
Who would have thought that a book about cancer kids would go on to become so popular?
Written by John Green, the book feels unflinchingly honest without being gruelling, and has buckets of humour and romance.
When popular books get adapted, there’s always the fear that you’re about to watch your favourite story get brutally cannibalised in front of a global audience of millions.
But The Fault In Our Stars has been giving nothing but positive vibes to its fans, with the trailer being one of the most liked videos on YouTube. So how does the film measure up to the book?
A lot of the dialogue is lifted word-for-word from the novel
Firstly, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a more faithful book-to-film adaptation. A lot of the dialogue is lifted word-for-word from the book, and some of Hazel’s narration is transferred into a voiceover so that her inner voice and observations about cancer aren’t lost.
The dialogue that isn’t directly taken from the book remains true to the characters and authentically teenage – perhaps even more so than the book.
Some story is trimmed and condensed, but hardly anything is cut altogether. Of all the characters, Isaac suffers the most, although, on the whole, the cuts benefit the film.
Isaac’s story is a little more light-hearted in the film than in the book, presumably because the filmmakers didn’t want the audience thinking too much about the awful reality of going blind.
The film opts instead to focus almost entirely on the love story, which is not only understandable but sensible.
The cast are great across the board. Nat Wolff brings much-needed humour as Isaac. Laura Dern and Sam Trammell do good work as Hazel’s parents, roles that are reined in slightly from the books.
Willem Dafoe is spot-on as the unrepentantly awful Peter Van Houten, thankfully denied any sort of schmaltzy redemption during the translation to film.
Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley play the star-crossed lovers
The film rests on the shoulders of Ansel Elgort and –
Written by John Green, the book feels unflinchingly honest without being gruelling, and has buckets of humour and romance.
When popular books get adapted, there’s always the fear that you’re about to watch your favourite story get brutally cannibalised in front of a global audience of millions.
But The Fault In Our Stars has been giving nothing but positive vibes to its fans, with the trailer being one of the most liked videos on YouTube. So how does the film measure up to the book?
A lot of the dialogue is lifted word-for-word from the novel
Firstly, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a more faithful book-to-film adaptation. A lot of the dialogue is lifted word-for-word from the book, and some of Hazel’s narration is transferred into a voiceover so that her inner voice and observations about cancer aren’t lost.
The dialogue that isn’t directly taken from the book remains true to the characters and authentically teenage – perhaps even more so than the book.
Some story is trimmed and condensed, but hardly anything is cut altogether. Of all the characters, Isaac suffers the most, although, on the whole, the cuts benefit the film.
Isaac’s story is a little more light-hearted in the film than in the book, presumably because the filmmakers didn’t want the audience thinking too much about the awful reality of going blind.
The film opts instead to focus almost entirely on the love story, which is not only understandable but sensible.
The cast are great across the board. Nat Wolff brings much-needed humour as Isaac. Laura Dern and Sam Trammell do good work as Hazel’s parents, roles that are reined in slightly from the books.
Willem Dafoe is spot-on as the unrepentantly awful Peter Van Houten, thankfully denied any sort of schmaltzy redemption during the translation to film.
Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley play the star-crossed lovers
The film rests on the shoulders of Ansel Elgort and –