Five Feet Apart Review

March 24, 2019 at 8:15pm
By Dylan Mackey

The Rom Com Five Feet Apart based off of the book by the same name, is the first feature film directed by Justin Baldoni. This hard hitting film follows Stella (Haley Lu Richardson) and Will (Cole Sprouse), both teenagers diagnosed with cystic fibrosis or CF. CF is a disorder that affects the exocrine glands, which leads to the production of thick mucus that can block pancreatic ducts. That often leads to respiratory failure. Unfortunately there is currently no cure for CF, just ways to slow it down.

Back to the film, Will and Stella aren’t allowed to leave the hospital so naturally they start to spend a lot of time together and begin to start dating. However, when you have CF you can’t share germs with another person with CF because it increases the chance of infection. Due to that, Stella and Will have to stay five feet apart from each other. Can their relationship last long enough for them to get new lungs or will they run out of time first?

The film does a good job explaining CF, how bad it truly is; the struggle with it, and the latest techniques to help slow the disease down. With a young but experienced cast it appeals to the teen audience well. With two 17 year olds as the main stars it tugs on the heart strings a lot more than the average Rom com. As well as both parties having the terminal illness it leaves a sense of suspense on the audience as to what’s going to happen to them. Haley’s and Coles chemistry on screen was great. It was nice to see how they portrayed Will and Stella, and how those characters have their own way of dealing with their illness.

For mostly taking place in a hospital Five Feet Apart does an excellent with showing off different parts of the building and making it feel a lot bigger than two kids in a single room. For not having much of any kind of sets, the film looks very realistic. It flows very well, and took the time it needed to introduce and get you to like the characters and fall in love with them as they’re falling in love themselves. Five Feet Apart does have many clichés and not the good ones.

The Conclusion

Five Feet Apart is a hard hitting Rom Com that focuses on cystic fibrosis. Even with a powerful message and a strong cast the film fails to hit the nail on head. Five Feet Apart is just another standard film of the genre that’s based off a book. However both stars having the illness was a nice touch, like taking a page of a John Green book. If you like these types of movies, then you’ll like Five Feet Apart to a fault.

Five Feet Apart Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Entertainment One

Rating Overall: 6.2