Five Feet Apart | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I went to see this film in the cinema last week on a whim - I heard very little about it and saw no trailers. Usually when I go to the cinema blind I wind up being pleasantly surprised, and this was no different.

Stella (Haley Lu Richardson) has Cystic Fibrosis, and spends most of her time trying to control the only aspect of her life that she is able to - her regimen. When to take her meds, when to have different methods of treatment, when to relax... she has her routine down. But one thing that she doesn't account for is meeting Will (Cole Sprouse), another CFer who wouldn't follow a routine if it would save his life. Because of their conditions, the two aren't allowed to be within six feet of each other, but soon they find that six feet is too far apart. Will they break the rules, and risk endangering their lives - or will Stella stick to her strict regimen, even if it means never being able to touch the boy she loves?

I really enjoyed this movie.

A lot of people are comparing it to 'The Fault In Our Stars', and while I completely understand the comparison because of the similar subject matters, they're actually really different films. For a start, the problem with the couple in TFIOS was that they both had cancer, so their time together was limited. However, with this film, time isn't their main issue - the issue is that they literally can't be within six feet of each other. It creates a tension out of something that you don't notice in other films, or in life really - the need to have physical contact with another human being.

My favourite thing about the film was the fact that you can literally see the main couple fall in love. As with a lot of romance films, they start off against each other, and then really warm to each other, to the point where you can almost feel the chemistry between them. The distance between them then becomes tragic because all you want is for them to be able to be together.

In the style of Romeo & Juliet, you know that this love story is doomed before the film even starts. There's no way they could healthily be together, but they also can't be apart. You're expecting tragedy from the off, so when the happiness and fun and humour hits you, you don't really expect it. This is what makes the film so heartwarming, the fact that it's not trying to make you feel down or upset. Even though upsetting things happen, there's still a sense of hope that gets passed to the audience.

Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse (as well as all the members of the supporting cast, including Moises Arias, Kimberly Hebert Gregory and Parminder Nagra) did an exceptional job in this movie. The acting was amazing, and they were really believable as a couple.

Something that I didn't expect was for the title of the movie to really have an impact on the way that I watched it. Because it's hammered into the audience right from the beginning that this couple can't be closer than six feet, you find yourself having the premise of a six-foot gap in the back of your mind, wondering every time you see them if they are six feet apart, or if this is what will infect them. It kind of gives you an anxious feeling - one that might be similar to how people in these real-life situations feel.

Overall, I think this was a beautiful movie, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It's probably marketed more towards a Young Adult audience, but that doesn't mean that older people can't enjoy it too.

7/10

Lou