The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is a 2014 American coming-of-age romance film directed by Josh Boone, based on John Green's 2012 novel of the same name. The film stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, with Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Nat Wolff, and Willem Dafoe in supporting roles.

Plot
Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley), a 16-year-old cancer patient, meets and falls in love with Gus Waters (Ansel Elgort), a similarly afflicted teen from her cancer support group. Hazel feels that Gus really understands her. They both share the same acerbic wit and a love of books, especially Grace's touchstone, "An Imperial Affliction" by Peter Van Houten. When Gus scores an invitation to meet the reclusive author, he and Hazel embark on the adventure of their brief lives.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The emotional flashback scene where a younger Hazel lies in hospital and her parents think that she is dying. Her mother starts crying, "I won't be a mother anymore" and tells Hazel if she wants to let go, she can as her husband is hugging her. Hazel when she lives to be a teenager worries that her death will break her parents.
 * 2) In the movie, most of the things Isaac does, especially destroying Gus' trophies and egging Monica's car.. Since the film has less time to tell the story, they (rather loudly) intersect with Hazel and Gus' more tender moments.
 * 3) Shailene Woodley was absolutely magnificent here, the perfect casting choice for The Fault in Our Stars and the official moment that her performance in general is amazing.
 * 4) While bittersweet, it is nice when Hazel learns that her mother has been taking night classes to eventually become a counsellor - showing that she intends to at least try to keep on living a full life after her daughter inevitably dies.
 * 5) *A small moment early on, when a little girl at the mall is curious about Hazel's oxygen tank and asks her why she has it. The girl's mother is embarrassed by it, but Hazel says it's fine and explains that the tank helps her breathe, even letting her see how it works for herself. She then reflects that most people get awkward about asking questions about her illness, not wanting to be rude or insensitive, except for little kids who don't know any better. One gets the distinct impression she appreciates it whenever someone doesn't tiptoe around the obvious and just asks.
 * 6) The film's soundtrack is very well-chosen. "Boom Clap" is an incredibly catchy and upbeat ear worm, while "Not About Angels" and "All of the Stars" are appropriately tearjerky and emotional pieces for the film's third act.
 * 7) Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort have fantastic chemistry together.

Reception
It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise given to Woodley's and Elgort's performances and chemistry together, as well as the screenplay. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 226 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wise, funny, and heartbreaking without resorting to exploitation, The Fault in Our Stars does right by its bestselling source material.". Metacritic gave the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Opening day audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Trivia

 * The original ending had Hazel and Van Houten try to find a way to honor Gus's death by dying themselves in a way that would accomplish something and was meaningful to his life. They plan to go out and kill a drug lord and die at the hands of his bodyguards, but apparently decide against the idea before the story's conclusion. One editor, upon reading this ending, remarked, "I can't tell if the last 40 pages are a joke." Then again, neither can John Green himself.
 * This is the first adaptation of the novel of the same name, the second adaptation is an Indian film simply titled Dil Bechara (The Helpless Heart).