Fault in our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars (12A) ***
Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern.
Advertisement
Two teenagers fall in love after meeting at a cancer support group. Based on the YA novel by John Green.
The Fault in Our Stars is faithful to the much loved novel on which it’s based - and that, in a way,
Fans who cherish, and feel ownership of, John Green’s smash hit novel will be very pleased at this reverent adaptation.
But while the film is undeniably touching and emotional, it struggles tonally with what has always been a tricky subject matter to get right on the big screen.
And while the dialogue - some of it directly from Green’s book - aims to gently poke fun at cancer throughout, ultimately it occasionally lapses into mawkish territory.
Shailene Woodley stars as Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16 year old with thyroid cancer in her lungs that will eventually kill her, she's just not sure exactly when. At a support group for other teens with cancer she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) who lost his leg to the disease but is now in remission and “on a rollercoaster that only goes up”.
Unlike many teen romances, director John Boone takes his time in developing their friendship and gradual romance, allowing the characters time to breathe.
Woodley really shines as the straight-talking Hazel who has little time for sentimentality and whose main concern is what affect her death will have on those around her while Laura Dern and Sam Trammell put in deft performances as her quietly grief-stricken mum and dad.
The film goes out of its way to gently poke fun at the conventions of the typical “cancer story” genre but there's no escaping the fact that at its heart, TFIOS is still a doomed love story.
While there’s no doubting the film’s sincerity, it wobbles during some of its most intense moments - the scene where Hazel visits Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam feels uncertain and schmaltzy, right when it should be at its most powerful.
Those who prefers action flicks to weepfests need not apply. But the film does right by its bestselling source novel - and for fans, that will be enough.
3 Days to Kill (12A) **
Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen.
Foreign location? Check. Line up of maniacal Eurobaddies? Check. Trigger-happy dad trying to protect his daughter? You got it.
It’s pretty obvious that Kevin Costner is hoping 3 Days to Kill will do for his status what Taken did for Liam Neeson’s.
Late in his career, Neeson’s become an action hero and at the tender age of 59, Costner is convincingly badass here. It’s a shame the movie’s such a mess.
He plays secret CIA agent Ethan Renner, who’s working to bring down a criminal called the Albino, following a previous run-in that went badly wrong.
His undercover life has cost him marriage to his ex-wife (Nielsen) and their daughter (Steinfeld) with who he barely has a relationship.
They now live in Paris and he travels there to spend time with them and try and repair the relationships with the two most important women in his life.
There’s a reason for his change of heart - Ethan has learned that he has terminal cancer and is anxious to spend what time with them he can.
But when an elite assassin (Heard) turns up in Paris, promising him a treatment for his disease if he works with her, Ethan finds himself back on the job.
As this plotline hints, the movie boasts a preposterous storyline with some frankly bonkers elements.
Director McG (Charlie’s Angels) and writer Luc Besson aim to counteract this by injecting some sly humour into the story. But the movie’s so unsure of itself that it’s hard to know when the humour is intentional.
