Five Feet Apart Review

Genre: Drama Romance

Where I Watched: Netflix (US)

Rating: PG-13 (Suggestive Material, Language, Thematic Elements)

Release Date: March 7th 2019

Overall Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDb), 53% (Rotten Tomatoes) 53% (Metacritic)

Run Time: 1 Hr 56 Min

Staring: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse, Moises Arias, Kimberly Hebert, Parminder Nagra, Claire Folani, Emily Baldoni, Gary Weeks, Cynthia Evans, Brett Austin Johnson, Ariana Guerra, Sophia Bernard

Directed By: Justin Baldoni

Written By: Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis

Based on the book written by Rachael Lippincott (with Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis)

Summary:

This follows the main characters of Will and Stella. With Poe being the secondary main character. All three of them have Cystic Fibrosis (CF) causes damage to mainly the lungs in the person that has CF.

Both Stella and Poe have been in and out of the hospital for as long as they can remember due to this disease so they have developed a friendship over the years due to them not really having anything else to do besides really sit in a hospital cut off from the outside world. Poe recently broke up with his boyfriend, who later he was going to take home to meet the parents on the night of Wills 18th birthday. 

Will and Stella meet while Stella is seeing the preemie baby’s at the beginning of the film. They dont get along all that great at first. But threw Stella wanting to get better, they start falling in love. Even though that there is a good chance that their love wont last more than say 5 years.

Stella and Will are willing to break the whole “6 feet rule” that is a rule when you have CF. That you cant get within 6 feet with anyone else that has CF due to the possibility of passing along something that could become an infection.

Which Stella wants to be in control over but cant. So she is in control of what she can control. Things like taking her medication on time. And she starts to develop an app of some sort that will help others make sure they stay on top of their medications and make sure that they are doing everything they can. Especially when they are in the hospital for weeks to months on end for their lungs acting up.

Will is the person who doesnt want anything to do with the treatment. But slowly Stella wears him down to where he is doing everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that he is suppose to be doing in the trials to make sure that this works. But when it doesnt, Will gives Stella one last surprise. One to remember him by.

Thoughts:

I will be honest. I loved this movie. The acting in this doesn't feels like acting. It seems like you are seeing the effects of what CF does to a person in their position. As a person who doesn't have CF, it seemed like everyone involved in this movie wanted to make it as realistic as possible. Did find something that they did consult with someone who did have CF (and a retired nurse who specialized in CF) to make sure that it was as accurate as humanly possible.

I know that these kinds of movies can’t portray what it is really like. So I am really glad that everyone involved made that effort to at least try. I know that not everything is accurate in this movie and also know that not everyone who has CF with how CF is portrayed in this film. And it is to note that CF isn't all rainbows and butterflies. I do think that this film brings light to something that I think most people never heard of before. And that would be CF.

The Mighty

Is It Worth The Watch:

If you want a good cry. Yes. Because this movie might make you cry. Even if you aren't the person who cries during movies. There is a good chance that this movie will make you cry.

As someone who did read the book under the same name, I didn't cry while reading some of the sad scenes in the book. But boy was this was heavy towards the end. So if you do choose to watch this movie (or read the book) just make sure to have tissues nearby.

Ratings:

4.5 out of 5