This is a full-on Love Story for this generation's teenage girls, which tries to give some degree of truth about relationships and illness whilst wrapped up in teenagers talking nonsense and stretching credibility (the Anne Frank house stairs scene, Willem Defoe's unpleasant writer) way too far at times, but these are balanced by some lovely scenes that court teenagedom and impending doom nicely. The biggest surprise is that Shailene Woodley is out-performed here by Ansel Elgort, who gives a sincere performance of good depth and range, whilst both give a pleasing note of happiness to their doomed relationship. Laura Dern also delivers strongly as Woodley's anxious but warm-hearted mother. It is necessarily glossy and idealised to meet its target market, but this film of the hit novel has a little more edge than expected and delivers emotionally at the right places.
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