I was very impressed by this movie as a whole, but what really made it work were the 2 stars and their very poignant performances.
Shailene Woodley never shone as brightly as she did here in a single performace. She wasn't this good in The Descendants. She wasn't this good in Divergent. But she carries this movie magnificently. Her strength and her gentleness shone so brightly and she portrayed a beautiful person that I'm wondering if the character from the novel can be any better.
Ansel Elgort was equally great. He did wonders with his character and performance. There were so many times when his liners could have fallen flat or could have sounded cheesy, but he made everything work. I didn't think much of him at all in Divergent or Carrie, but I am now fully onboard with him as an actor, especially when he's only done these few movies in his career.
But all these would not have been possible were it not for the brilliant direction given by Josh Boone. Boone, also new to Hollywood, has such a clear vision on how to make this story work. And the way he got the best performances out of his actors for a scene was very impressive. And he knows what lines and where to put certain monologue will achieve the best impact on the audience.
Supporting cast like Laura Dearn, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek, Sam Trammell and Nat Wolff were also great additions to the movie.
The only part that didn't quite gel for me was that visit to Anne Frank's museum. As Woodley's character forced her way up the stairs, those scenes felt forced as well. It probably was written smoothly for the novel but just wasn't adapted to its best.
No comments:
Post a Comment