film / 2014
The Fault in Our Stars
Hazel and Augustus fall in love while illness makes every promise, trip, and goodbye carry extra weight.
Verified facts
- Runtime
- 2h 6m
- Director
- Josh Boone
- Released
- 2014
- Based on
- The Fault in Our Stars
PlotGeeks explainer signals
Why read this explainer
Hazel first fears the grief her illness could cause Augustus. His decline changes the future she has been preparing herself to avoid.
PlotGeeks note
Augustus's final words reach Hazel after the relationship has ended in death. They give her a way to consider its value without diminishing its pain.
Connected knowledge
Connected in PlotGeeks
Related explainers and browse pages for The Fault in Our Stars.
- Compare with The Fault in Our Stars (2012 book)
Compare what changes between the 2012 book and the 2014 film.
- Explore Grief
These stories show grief as an active force: it can distort judgment, deepen care, or keep a person fixed in the past.
Timeline
Major events
- The support group brings them together
Hazel and Augustus begin a friendship that becomes a romance despite her fear of hurting him.
- Amsterdam disappoints their expectations
The meeting with Van Houten fails to supply the answers they wanted from his novel.
- Augustus reveals his returning cancer
His terminal illness reverses the loss Hazel had expected to cause.
- Hazel reads his final words
After his death, she receives the eulogy he wrote for her and affirms their time together.
Story in 60 Seconds
The short version
Hazel Grace Lancaster meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group and lets him into a life organized around treatment and the fear of causing grief. Their attachment grows through shared books, including a novel whose unfinished ending frustrates her. Augustus arranges a trip to Amsterdam to question its author, Peter Van Houten, but the meeting disappoints them. Their love survives that disappointment before Augustus reveals that his cancer has returned. Hazel, who expected to be the person others would lose, must now accompany him through his decline.
Spoiler sectionEnding ExplainedShow ending detailsHide ending details
Augustus dies after hearing Hazel and Isaac deliver their eulogies at his requested pre-funeral. Hazel later learns that the paper Van Houten gave her contains Augustus's words about her. Reading them allows her to accept their brief time together as something she would choose despite the grief. The letter offers recognition, not an escape from bereavement.
Original context
Why it matters
What the conflict reveals
Augustus's decline changes the loss Hazel expected to face. His final words let her reconsider whether protecting others from grief would also mean refusing love.
Key turning points
Augustus reveals his returning cancer
Augustus's disclosure changes the future Hazel has feared throughout their romance. She becomes the one who must survive a loved person's death rather than prevent his attachment to her.
Character links
Who connects to whom
Character motivations
What drives the characters
Hazel tries to protect others from the grief she believes her illness will cause. Augustus wants their love to matter even when it cannot secure more time.
Adaptation
Book and film connection
Explore the story