Image taken from hereI had very high expectations with TFiOS. It’s not perfect, but I am just so glad that the movie didn’t deviate that much from the book. Some parts were omitted. Caroline Mathers and Kaitlyn were not even mentioned. But I believe that these didn’t affect the flow of the story. I believe that moviegoers who didn’t have the chance to read the book will not miss anything. (Although it would have been hilarious to include Gus and the blind Isaac playing a video game!)
The cast did an amazing job. The chemistry of Shailene Woodley (Hazel) and Ansel Elgort (Augustus) is very refreshing. I love how Shailene managed to look frail outside but very strong inside. Although I think that the movie wasn’t able to capture 100% of Hazel’s weirdness and intelligence, Woodley made the most out of what was given to her. Her breakdown scenes are too powerful not to be noticed. In my opinion, the scene where she’s crying in the middle of the night is actually more potent on the big screen than in the book! Ansel Elgort is actually more charming than the Augustus in my mind. He has that boyish look yet he embodies the perfect knight in shining armor. The way he stares at Woodley seems so genuine, I actually found myself smiling at those times. His sense of humor is engaging, too. Just like in the book, Isaac provided the comic relief to such a heavy plot. I deeply enjoyed watching Nat Wolff’s portrayal of Isaac. The entire cinema kept on bursting into laughter because of him. For me, Laura Dern’s performance is compelling. She successfully made me feel the pain and horror, joy and hope that every mother feels when faced with the difficulty of taking care of a kid with cancer. Sam Trammell who plays Hazel’s dad was good, too. But I was just a bit disappointed because the one thing that made me cry the hardest while reading the book is a scene that involves him and Hazel. Unfortunately, the movie version failed to give me the same. (I know I should stop comparing the book and the movie! :p)
TFiOS is flawed in some ways. The pacing is a bit off especially at the beginning. I was also expecting Van Houten to be more evil and annoying. I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to feel the “presence” of Hazel’s dad. But overall, I enjoyed watching TFiOS. It’s nice to go out of the cinema feeling that I wasn’t robbed of the kind of movie adaptation that every bookworm deserves.
P.S.
Something really bothered me after watching the movie. Why was I the only one laughing at the scenes with the big circle, small circle thing?! I mean, it's impossible that I was the only one who got to read the book. So is it because A) my sense of humor is just as twisted as John Green or B) those kids just don't have a freakin' idea what a Venn diagram is?! Sorry, geeky problem! :p
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