Five Feet Apart is a sweet and charming romantic comedy but also a very educational and thoughtful film.
If, just like me, you don't know a thing about cystic fibrosis, after you watch this movie you will learn about this strange illness that takes such a heavy toll on the patients.
Basically, cystic fibrosis patients need to spend their lives in a hospital, always carrying a strange device to help them clear the lungs. They spend their lives waiting for someone else to die, so that they can have a lung transplant. That is their only hope of having a normal life.
Besides that, due to the particularity of the disease, cystic fibrosis patients cannot be too close from one another. While they are allowed to be and touch with other people who don't have the disease, they are forced to stay apart from those who are suffering from the same illness as them.
As you can imagine, living in a hospital, most of their acquaintances end up being people in the same situation... and yet, they must not approach each other to support and comfort each other.
This movie is a love tale between a couple of teenagers who are in such a situation... Stella and Will.
These teenagers fall in love and while they can be around each other... they must always remember they cannot touch each other. This means no hugs, no kissing, no sex. They can only... talk. 🙄
As time passes by, they become frustrated and mad at the situation and decide to rebel a little bit, putting their own lives at risk... by simply approaching each other a little bit more than the allowed five feet.
They know they shouldn't... but they cannot stand the madness of their situation.
I enjoyed the story a lot... as well as learning about the strange illness that is cystic fibrosis. I don't want to say much more about the story in order not to spoil it for you.
The film was mostly shot inside a hospital, so the human interactions between a group of teenagers who can't touch each other is the main part of the plot.
Gladly, the story was well written and it makes you laugh, cry and think... above all, it really makes you think.
Cole Sprouse plays the role of Will while Haley Lu Richardson is Stella. They are both very good and convincing in their parts. The whole movie revolves around them... and they deliver it with credible and touching performances.
There's very few to say about the scenery. Most of the story happens inside the hospital, so there isn't much to look at... and the only part filmed outside happens during the night. If a good scenery is something you really need in a movie, then this is not for you.
This is all about the story, which is a complicated romance between the lovers... due to the restrictions placed by the cystic fibrosis disease they suffer from.
Besides the dark subject of the movie, there are a lot of funny moments and some very touching ones.
This is a good movie which taught me a lot about cystic fibrosis. I had no clue about this disease when the movie started. I definitely learnt a few things along the way.
I rate it with an 8 out of 10.
