PG-13 | 1h 56m | Drama, Romance | 2019
When one hears the title of Justin Baldoni’s teen romance film “Five Feet Apart,” they may conjure up memories of the pandemic lockdowns, in which billions of people around the world experienced harsh quarantines and other restrictive measures.
However, Mr. Baldoni’s movie (his feature film directorial debut) was produced a year before the lockdowns, which took place in early 2020.
Still, “Five Feet Apart” is about restrictions since it involves a couple of teens who are afflicted with cystic fibrosis (or CF), a genetic disorder that often causes respiratory issues such as the buildup of excessive mucus in a person’s lungs. People with CF may be vulnerable to each other’s infections, and so must keep some distance between others with the disease, hence the film’s title.
In this case, the two youngsters who have CF and could endanger each other are Stella (Haley Lu Richardson) and Will (Cole Sprouse), who are patients at the same hospital, and they definitely don’t start off close, in any way.
Stella not only has CF but also clinically-diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She uses her OCD as a way of controlling her hospital environment and obsessively sticking to her daily physical and pharmaceutical regimens. She also keeps a daily to-do list, and manages her stress by keeping a video blog of her experiences. Sometimes, she’ll stare out of her window at distant city lights as if she longs to visit them someday.
A charismatic and overall hopeful person, Stella has a cadre of friends, one of whom is also a patient named Poe (Moises Arias), who is a decidedly humorous young man. The two like to take lighthearted jabs at each other in order to lift one another’s spirits.
Stella is also on the hospital’s list for a lung transplant, stating in a blog entry that her lungs are at about 50 percent, so she’ll need a transplant by the time she’s a junior in high school, according to medical professionals.
One day, Stella meets Will, a rather pessimistic young man who not only has CF, but has also contracted Burkholderia cepacia complex, a pathogen that negates the ability of patients to receive a lung transplant. Although they butt heads at first, when Stella discovers that Will is part of a risky clinical drug trial, yet still chooses not to stick to his daily health regimens, she becomes driven to find out why.
The Human Touch
Will agrees to let Stella help him with his regimen if she’ll give him permission to draw a picture of her. Over time, the ice between them begins to melt, and romantic flirtations start to occur. The only catch is that, to ensure their safety, they aren’t allowed to be physically close to each other. From here, you can probably discern where things are headed.Knowing about the premise of this film pretty much exposes the writing on the wall, well in advance. And although its running time might be a little too long, and it does drag in some places (especially in scenes clearly designed to produce tears), the main actors’ performances are impressive enough to carry the film.
As an actor, Haley Lu Richardson’s emotive range is multifaceted as she oscillates convincingly between being hopeful and sometimes sad. It was also nice to see Cole Sprouse’s character begin as somewhat of a jaded jerk, eventually metamorphose into someone who not only cares for others but also starts to appreciate the little things that can make life more pleasant.
The nurses in the film were also a pleasure to watch, particularly Barb (Kimberly Hebert Gregory), a sassy yet caring nurse who dotes over her patients as if they were part of her family. It’s nice to see caregivers and other hospital workers, who often go unnoticed, be recognized in this movie.
In addition to showing medical workers in a positive light, we also get to learn more about how people with CF (referred to as “CFers” in the movie) go on about their lives despite the limits they have to adhere to. As Stella says at both the beginning and end of the film, “the human touch … our first form of communication, … safety, security, comfort,” while we see a mother holding her infant in her arms.
Indeed, physical contact is a very important aspect of expressing warmth, comradery, and intimacy, and it’s nice to watch a film such as “Five Feet Apart” to remind us of that. If you don’t mind a little shameless pulling on your heartstrings, this is a charming romantic drama to check out.
