REVIEW

Hugs, kisses, holding hands and being able to touch somebody. It’s very easy to take these things for granted, but when human touch disappears, it can affect somebody’s life in more ways than people realize. 

“Five Feet Apart,” released March 15, explores exactly that. Lovebirds Will Newman, played by Cole Sprouse, and Stella Grant, Hayley Lu Richarson, both suffer from cystic fibrosis, a disease that affects the respiratory and digestive system, and can’t be within six feet of each other for risk of getting sick. Despite this, the couple moves closer emotionally and physically, hence the name “Five Feet Apart.” 

The movie is centered around Will and Stella’s romance and great on-screen chemistry. This chemistry is not limited to just with each other, but with their friends too. They all get along extremely well, which helps make the movie funny and lighten the mood. 

Richardson does a great job portraying Stella as a warm-hearted and kind person who isn’t afraid to bend the rules or sometimes break them while Sprouse does an equally great job portraying her opposite. Will, likes to put up a strong front and not show any emotions to protect those around him, but audiences can still recognize him as a sweetheart.  

While the movie overall was great, there were a couple cheesy moments. However, it’s nothing that exceeds the expected amount of cheese in a romance movie. Director Justin Baldoni does a decent job controlling the happy, yet depressing mood the movie was able to balance. 

A thing viewers should consider before watching it is the fact that since the main characters have an incurable disease, they talk about death and what it would be like after death a lot which could be triggering.  Occasionally this made the movie’s mood have that feeling of sadness or hopelessness or like there’s no way out of bad situations. Even when there was a happy scene, that feeling was always there just tucked away in a corner out of sight, out of mind. 

The biggest flaw the film had was that it is predictable and cliche.  It’s the same old same. Two people who are sick fall in love but can’t be together… giving it a “The Fault in Our Stars” vibe. 

Other than the depressing undertone, the movie was decent. Although, the film had John Green vibes, it still felt like its own movie. “Five Feet Apart” has a slightly above average plot, great character chemistry and excellent emotional scenes. It is sure to please romance movie goers.