Five Feet Apart Review

Five Feet Apart is a romantic drama based on a book written by Rachel Lippincott. The movie chronicles the romantic relationship between two terminally-ill teenagers: Stella, played by Haley Lu Richardson, and Will, played by Cole Sprouse.  

The concept of their relationship is like that of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. The two lovers have cystic fibrosis, which is an incurable disease of the lungs that causes lung infections and limits breathing; it is deadly if left untreated. Because of their conditions, the two are confined to the walls of their hospital.  

The main premise of the movie is that because these two teens both have cystic fibrosis, they are not allowed to be in the same room with each other, let alone touch each other for risk of death, but at the same time, it is a love that they are both willing to die for. 

The hospital rule, enforced by a strict and overprotective but loving nurse, is that they are to remain a least six feet apart from each other. This frustrates the two lovers and to take control of their lives and their relationship, they subtract that one foot to be even closer.  

Five Feet Apart was directed and produced by Justin Baldoni, who is known for his role as Rafael on Jane the Virgin. It seems as if Baldoni took some tips from Jane the Virgin because they both have emotional twists and turns, and stem from classic romantic tropes such as the “boy meets girl”, “the forbidden love”, and “the couple not liking each other at first.”  

The movie does have moments where it will pull on your heartstrings and raise your heartrate with suspense. Near the end of the movie, Stella and Will are out in the snow, when Stella falls off a low bridge onto a frozen lake. Will goes around the corner to get her when she has fallen into the ice. This moment was led up to with a moderate amount of suspense so that when the moment hit, it made a big impact. 

 Overall, this movie was an emotional film with some deep sentimental and thought-provoking moments thrown in. This film would be a great watch for those who enjoy light emotional surprises, because this movie is full of them.