‘The Fault in Our Stars’ Is Great Because of Shailene Woodley

The Fault in Our Stars was always destined to be a blockbuster hit. John Green’s romance about two teenagers who survived cancer debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list for Children’s Chapter Books and stayed there for seven weeks. By 2013 there were a million copies of it already in print. The Fault in Our Stars the novel was one of those pop culture sensations that practically begged for its own Hollywood adaptation. But on the fifth anniversary of The Fault in Our Stars film it’s worth reflecting on what exactly made this movie more than just another forgettable YA adaptation: Shailene Woodley.

With all respect to John Green, The Fault in Our Stars in the prime example of a young adult premise that should have worked better as a book. Green’s flowery writing style comes out in full force in the novel and while reading it is romantic, watching it being acted out sometimes leans closer to cringe-worthy corniness. Take one of heartthrob Augustus Waters’ (played by Ansel Elgort) most memorable lines for example. Shortly after meeting Hazel Grace (played by Woodley) he puts an unlit cigarette in his mouth and says, “You put an object of death right between your lips, but you don’t give it the power to kill you.”

Reading that sentence was as romantic and deep as Green likely intended. But actually seeing a cocky teenager say them? Ugh to the max. Through no fault of his own Ansel Elgort’s take on Augustus Waters consistently felt like the most insufferable guy in everyone’s high school, aka Kevin McClain in American Vandal.

Yet even when Augustus’ poetic monologues sounded miles away from something an actual teenager would say, Woodley’s performance as Hazel Grace sells their romance and ultimately their story. This isn’t to say that Hazel doesn’t have some frustrating dialogue of her own. The first big moment Hazel has with Augustus revolves around her monologuing about how everyone is going to eventually die. That happens at their cancer support group, by the way.

However out of Woodley’s mouth these moments never feel pretentious or try hard. Instead she effortlessly communicates her character’s misguided angst and frustration in a way that’s believable for Hazel’s age. Of course Hazel is mad. She was diagnosed with lung cancer at an early age, only has half of a working lung, and is practically destined to die an early death while bearing the weight of her parents’ grief. That’s too much for anyone to handle, let alone a 17-year-old girl. It makes complete sense she would find some sort of warped comfort in being an aggressive, understandable downer. That’s what teenagers do.

Time and time again Woodley perfectly walks the balance between these big, complicated moments, giving them subtle touches that wordlessly communicate Hazel’s youth, anger, sorrow, and fear. Just watch Woodley’s smile drop when Elgort’s Augustus admits that he loves her a second time:

It’s such a small moment but that drooping smile tells an entire complex story. In the first frame, Hazel is glowing and practically smirking, enjoying the company of her amusing boyfriend in gorgeous Amsterdam. It’s not just that her life is good in this moment. It’s radiantly good when she’s been promised so little. But in the second frame you can actually see her realize that Augustus does genuinely love her. You can watch her seriously accepting this news. And you can also see all of the pain and horror that lurk at the corners of that revelation. Both Hazel and Augustus know she’s likely not long for this world. They know the more he loves her the more likely it is she’ll hurt him.

Through her subtle reactions and pointedly adolescent line reads, it’s Shailene Woodley who sells this central relationship in this love story as well as The Fault in Our Stars as a whole. It’s because of her charming laughter that we believe Augustus is funny. It’s through her brooding monologues about death that we feel the weight of her constant emotional pain. And it’s through her softening expressions that we see Hazel and Augustus falling in love.

Shailene Woodley has always been an incredible actress. As Big Little Lies’ second season approaches it’s important to remember that in a cast filled with legends like Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and Laura Dern, Woodley more than held her own and stood as this series’ emotional center. But it wasn’t a prestige HBO show that first clued us in that Woodley was a force to reckon with. It was a teen love story that she completely made her own.

Where to stream The Fault in Our Stars