Film Review of “Paper Towns” – Utterly Thought-Provoking and Hilarious

August 21, 2015

My sister and I went on a spontaneous trip to the cinema, deciding to watch the newly released Paper Towns. Anyone who’s read the book, must have been excited to see the film adaptation. I, on the other hand, have not read the book. I didn’t know what to expect from the narrative at all. Perhaps that helped me enjoy the film, with the mystery of it all, but I really did love it.

So, the film started off with a bang. Straight away from the voice over of the main character Q, I felt pulled in.

I actually leant into my sister and said that it was a very good start to the film. I liked the concept, the characters and the narrator. It’s difficult to get the narrator right. It can sometimes come off as cheesy or overshadowing or silly, but this hit home. It added to the plot in every way it needed to. And then, of course, the beautiful Cara Delevingne came onto the screen.

Isn’t the girl amazing? She’s definitely one of my lady crushes because not only is she beautiful, but she’s also an actual person. Not at all a paper person like the story dictated. She’s funny, quirky, clumsy and so so real. I love it! In the film, she was the same. Perhaps this is why I can’t yet judge her true acting skill, because she was too much like herself when playing Margo. But all the same, I liked her character at first. She was reckless and inspiring. A little too inspiring. Her words – written by the author John Green – had my sister and I re-evaluating our lives.

No, seriously. As one of my previous posts said, I’m a little lost at the moment. I don’t know who I am or what I’m doing. I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. I feel alone. I have a lot of people that I love and trust, but I feel alone. They don’t really get what it’s like to be me. What it’s truly like. I’m scared all the time. It’s even scary to tell you that. I know we’re all scared sometimes, and I’m a proud person because despite being scared I do what I need to do…but is it enough? Am I truly living? That’s what Paper Town made me do. It made me beat myself up.

It made me see that I plan too much and think things through, rather than just going and doing it. Rather than just doing whatever I like to be happy in the moment. You see what I’m getting at? I want to be like Margo in that I’m not afraid to just do whatever. To not care what anyone thinks. To get up and go with  real ‘fuck you’ attitude. To feel alive. To feel the warmth in my veins, the beating of my heart and an empty head as I just do it. But I don’t. My head is heavy with thoughts. Always thinking. And I’m shackled to the ground by it.

Moving on swiftly…The rest of the film was amazing because it was effortlessly funny. It made your sides split from very well done character interaction. The trio of friends were so natural that it made you feel like they were your friends too. The mystery behind it, too, was truly engaging. You felt what Q felt as he unravelled Margo’s mystery, and I really liked that. Mysteries don’t always succeed in mystifying; or in mystifying, they just confuse. But this worked very well for me. It didn’t have a lot going on other than that, but that was nice. Plus, how they highlighted how endings can be so hard. How people touch our lives in ways we don’t realise til they’re almost gone. It’s sad. And it was sad to see that on the screen, too. But it wasn’t elaborate. It was what it was. Teens, love, mystery, reflection and hilarity. YA books are definitely something I need to give more of my time to.

All in all, go watch the film and go read the book. Either one, I’m sure, will entertain you. However, get ready to feel. Whether it’s from reflecting on your life, or feeling the emotion of life and endings, I’m sure Paper Towns will hit home.

9/10

~ Damsel

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