So the audience is treated to an extended sequence of Hazel struggling to catch her breath as she pulls her oxygen cannister up to the top of the Anne Frank House. Despite living in Amsterdam, Vliegenthart is somehow unaware that that the Anne Frank House doesn’t have an elevator. Just in case the heavy-handed symbolism wasn’t enough, the movie goes all-in. Realising that these bigger moments will draw the expected response, the movie is surprisingly matter-of-fact about a lot of things. The Fault in Our Stars contains a couple of big melodramatic moments, but it paces itself. Movies about kids suffering from terminal illnesses are always going to struggle with these sorts of heavy-handed touches and twists – it’s very easy to make the audience cynical by overplaying a hand. Woodley is assisted by a script that is wise enough to be selective in its melodrama. However, the film consciously and repeatedly reminds the audience that there are always people left behind. The focus of The Fault in Our Stars is very much on Hazel, as it should be. It’s an understated and effective performance, one that enhances the film around it without ever taking the centre stage. Laura Dern is fantastic as Hazel’s mother, a woman trying to put on a brave front in the face of a parental nightmare. Of course, Woodley is surrounded by a wonderful cast.
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