There will be some spoilers! So this post may not be for you if you haven't read the book/seen the movie :)
The Book
TFIOS is written by John Green, Youtuber, and author. He has a Youtube channel with his brother, Hank, where weekly they post vlogs to one another. The Vlogbrothers have a very dedicated fanbase- the Nerdfighters. One of the reasons why the Vlogbrothers are so successful is because of John's books, so each time he publishes a new novel, he is guarenteed a firm audience of people that will love, respect and admire his work. TFIOS is not his first novel, and his other works, like Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns are bestsellers, which will also be made into films in the near future.
I read TFIOS in October of last year. Then, it was a very popular novel, and a film was firmly in the making. I read it because I was very interested to see what all the hype was about, and because it was unavailable at the library (they only got it for me in April) I read the pdf version (not as exciting). It took me a while to get properly into the novel- I came to a stage where I had to almost force myself to read it, but I got into it towards the middle of the book, and I couldn't put it down when I did.
For those of you not familiar with the TFIOS story, it is a novel about Hazel, a teenage girl who suffers with terminal cancer. She is forced to go to support group by her parents in order to make friends and to get her mind of the fact that she will die soon. In support group, she meets Augustus, and *of course* falls in love with him, making the book about their relationship.
The book itself is written beautifully, John Green is a very talented writer, that's for sure. His descriptions are very clear and very vivid, and he has a very interesting way of expressing himself through the written word. It is no surprise he is a bestselling author, and he deserves every praise.
The plot is very clever, and I genuinely did not see the twist at the end coming. It could have been predicted, if you thought about it hard enough, but it didn't dawn on me, and so I was really taken aback. I do feel like Hazel and Gus' relationship makes a very fast transition from when they first meet to their trip to Amsterdam- there is no episode of where they get to know each other, it's just like they meet, and immediately, they are a couple.
I did find a few things in the book that made it a little strange. For example, I don't understand the kiss in the Anne Frank house. It's not 'hot' or romantic in any way- I have visited the Anne Frank house, and if my boyfriend leaned in for a kiss, I would kindly push him away. It's too inappropriate, it gives the love story of Hazel and Augustus a perverse flavour- their first kiss being in a house of a lot of pain, fear, gloomy-ness and the mark of one of humanity's greatest tragedies. It is, in plain english, weird. If the kiss would have taken place on the bench where Hazel and Gus rest on later, it would have been so much more relatable and normal. Also, the part where the couple eventually sleep with each other? Fair enough, but once again, it's a bit weird.
Also, the whole cancer aspect doesn't play a very big role in the book. There is some brief cancer talk, but it's very vague and doesn't have a lot of detail, showing that Green didn't do too much research before writing. This shows a little sloppiness and carelessness, but it's a small detail. If there was more cancer-related *technical* talk, the book would feel more real. However, this is only a small flaw.
One of the criticisms given to the book, by many people, is that John Green doesn't understand teenagers, as teenagers don't talk like Gus and Hazel do. This is true, the couple don't talk like other teens, but I doubt that Green doesn't understand teenagers- he is the leader of the Nerdfighters for crying out loud. This doesn't really bother me, as I like the intelligent way that they talk- Gus and Hazel can be classified as the 'exceptional' couple, and what makes them even more right for each other may be the way they talk.
Unfortunately, there is a part at the end that literally ruined the whole book for me. Hazel goes into Gus' room after his passing and discovers photographs of a girl that looks very similar to Hazel. Hazel eventually realises that the girl in the photos is Gus' dead girlfriend, who passed away from cancer. It is then hinted that the reason why Gus was so attracted to Hazel when he met her is because she reminded him of his dead girlfriend.
But surely this means that all the time whilst Gus was with Hazel, he was secretly pretending in his mind that he was with his dead girlfriend?! This part, at the very end, ruins the love story of Hazel and Augustus for me. This part alone shows that the whole relationship was a sham- that really, Gus was just comforting himself over his dead girlfriend with a girl who looked very much like her. Thankfully, they didn't put this in the film, and rightly so.
Overall, I'm giving the book a 7/10. It is a good novel, and the ending is heartbreaking (yes, I did cry). I like the book in general, although some parts do put me off it a bit. I recommend you read it as it looks like it has become a modern classic- however, there are much better cancer stories in the market, my favourite ones include 'Ways to Live Forever' by Sally Nicholls, or a cancer love story, 'Before I Die' by Jenny Downham.
The Film
I think there is two questions surrounding anybody that's seen this film:
1.Did you cry?
2. Did you like it?
To answer the first question, yes. I did cry. My waterworks turned on when Hazel bumped into Gus, and they didn't stop well after the movie ended. Admittedly, they got worse throughout and Sarah had to hold me during my 'little' breakdown at the very end, so thankies love!:)
I did like the film, but I didn't love it. It was excellently average. Firstly, I'll talk about the performances.
Shailene Woodley plays the part of Hazel, and her performance is outstanding. She is very obviously, a very gifted actress. Her husky voice somehow matches her role, and she looks exactly like the Hazel I imagined. She portrayed all the emotions correctly, and embodied her character extremely well, making Hazel real and believable. I really do like Woodley in TFIOS, she is one of the best parts of the film.
Ansel Elgort plays Augustus Waters, and I really didn't think his performance, in this movie, is great. Compared to Woodley, who was so natural, Elgort seemed awkward, and even a little bit creepy. I don't think Elgort embodied his role as well as Woodley did, and this is really evident in the scene where Hazel and Gus finally meet Peter Van Houten. As Van Houten turns out to be a bitter and unpleasant man, Hazel gets frustrated and Woodley portrays this very well. Elgort, however, I found was just awkward and unreactive, as he just sat there and stared into space, very fake-ily. Elgort's performance got good towards the end, as he himself became sick, his role changed and suddenly he became the Gus that we knew from the book.
The smaller characters were good. I liked Hazel's parents, who seemed like kind-hearted and loving parents, I liked Isaac, I even liked Peter Van Houten- he portrayed his role of a horrible writer very well. The overall performances were good, in my opinion.
In regards to very cinematic things, the film is quite weak. There is no interesting shots, every shot and every scene is pretty much the same as the one previous- with the exceptions of the 2 scenes where the main characters get very ill and need to be hospitalized. The film doesn't have a set colour palette- however I like the colours, I like the bright shades, and overall I think the film looks quite pretty- however being a lover of photography, details and bold colours attract me like a magpie to something shiny.
I feel like two many scenes begin with Hazel being in her bedroom, on her phone or asleep, a very dull start to some exciting scenes. A lot of scenes also start with very basic shots- establishing the scene, then a few characters simply talking. Like I said before, the 2 scenes where Hazel needs to be hospitalized and where Gus has a breakdown in the gas station are interesting and add excitement, however the film needs much more of those scenes.
The music in the film is also extremely poor. Admittedly, I liked how they put in Birdy's and Ed Sheeran's songs that they had written for the film, and I also liked how Kodaline's All I Want was incorporated. A lot of the time the music was barely there, and when Charli's Boom Boom Clap came on, I actually turned to Sarah and went 'Why this song?!'. For such an upbeat, clubbing-suitable song to be featured on such a sad, poigant film is downright inappropriate, and adds a very 'chick flick' like feel to the film, even though it is far from that.
Having said all these things, I do admit that the film was made for fangirls and Nerdfighters who adored TFIOS right down to the core. This kind of an audience usually ensures that the film will be successful and highly liked in between those who watch it. Cinematic scenes are not really needed as teenage girls aren't usually interested in films being rich in cinematography and unique editing, with the exception of some girls, obviously. This movie was made to have its quotes mouthed as the audience watched on, and the ultimate goal is to make you cry. This is all fair enough, but as the blockbuster it has become, and with a budget of 12m dollars, I personally think the film could have been done better. Thus, I'm giving TFIOS movie a 5.5/10.
Thank you so much for reading, (I hope I didn't bore you haha!) and please remember that this just my opinion :)
My Twitter- @gabysayshey
Gaby x
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