This week, I watched a movie that, in a way, has a lot of relevance to what’s going on right now. It’s a story about two teens who find love in unlikely circumstances. “Five Feet Apart” is a romantic drama that came out in March of 2019. It centers around a 17-year-old girl named Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) who suffers from cystic fibrosis. During Stella’s stay at the hospital awaiting a lung transplant, she meets Will Newman (Cole Sprouse), another CF patient. The two become unlikely friends and eventually, friendship turns into something more. There’s just one problem: CF patients must be six feet apart at all times or else they risk catching each other’s germs which could ultimately lead to death for both of them. Not wanting their disease to control their lives, Stella and Will find ways to break the rules and test the limits so that they can be together. Directed by Justin Baldoni, Five Feet Apart is a heartwarming story of teen love persevering with the odds stacked against them. I would give this movie three stars out of five. The movie has several likable characters such as Poe, the gay best friend, Nurse Barbara, and Stella’s sister Abby. The leads, Stella and Will have great onscreen chemistry and there are many moments throughout the film where it’s clear that they truly love each other. Lastly, the movie has beautiful themes such as “never take your loved ones for granted” and “life’s too short to waste a second.” Despite the many good things about this movie, it’s not perfect. There are a few aspects of the movie that prevented me from giving it a perfect score. For example, Stella and Will can be very likable at times. Will is extremely pessimistic at times and is a “glass is half empty” kind of guy. He’s also overly sarcastic to a point where it’s almost annoying. He is unable to receive a transplant, so he was selected to participate in a drug trial for CF patients. His negative view on life and his disbelief that the drugs will work makes it seem like he’s ungrateful to be receiving help for his disease. It would make sense for him to feel this way given his circumstances, but the movie over exaggerates it to the point where it’s hard to feel empathy for him. Stella, on the other hand, is a more positive person. She’s very social, productive, and has hope for her future. She also takes her medication very seriously. She’s very OCD when it comes to arranging her med cart and following her schedule. This is not what makes her unlikeable, however. She gets very defensive when people don’t agree with her, she’s a “my way or the highway” kind of person, and whenever someone tries to comfort her or give her advice, she tends to blow up at them or shut them out. Even though there are times where she isn’t very likable, there are just as many times where she’s a great character. The concept of the movie isn’t original. When I saw this movie, I thought it was almost exactly the same plot as “The Fault In Our Stars. Both movies are about two sick kids who find love despite the circumstances. I personally like The Fault in Our Stars better but I enjoyed Five Feet Apart as well. I thought it was a good movie and I would probably recommend it to a friend.
