Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Based on the novel by John Green
Starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe
U.S., 2014
Two teenagers with terminal cancer fall in love and travel to Amsterdam to seek out answers to the ambiguous ending of their favorite author’s novel.
I wanted to like this tragic romance about articulate, precocious teens dealing with love in the face of their own mortality, but aside from having an appealing cast, this movie doesn’t have much else going for it. The most confusing sequence is also arguably the most important sequence in the film, in which the teens meet the reclusive author they’re seeking and demand answers to the ending of his book. He is alcoholic and abusive towards them, which is not great, but at the same time, why should he have to say anything more than, “That’s just the way the book ends” when someone demands to know what happens next? After this the teens visit the Anne Frank House, where they kiss in the attic to APPLAUSE from the other tourists. What’s that about? It has to be seen to be believed, or better yet, not seen.
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