Film Review: Five Feet Apart
Five Feet Apart (2019)
Director: Justin Baldoni
UK Rating: 12A
Length: 116 minutes
Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse, Moises Arias
Five Feet Apart is a film that I've waited all my life for. The plot revolves around two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis, Stella Grant and Will Newman (played by Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse), who start off as people who can't really stand eachother however end up falling in love by the end of he film.
The majority of the film is set in their hospital, on what seems to be a CF ward. Stella is in for routine IVs, whereas Will is in for a trial of a treatment for B. Cepacia (a bacterial infection in the lungs). The two are told to stay over six feet apart from eachother at all times. The two become friends and start breaking the rule, choosing to stay only five feet apart. They do this against all advice from their nurse Barb (Kimberly Hebert Gregory), and with the help of Poe (Moises Arias), another CFer.
If you know me then you'll probably know I have CF. I was diagnosed at 4 weeks old and it's all I have ever known. This film was on my watch list as soon as it was announced. I'm very happy to say that I really enjoyed the film. It was really accurate in terms of CF, the only problems I had with the medical aspect of the film was the hospital rules, when I have stayed in hospital for IVs in the past and another CFer has also been in we aren't allowed anywhere near eachother, let alone in the same room and we also weren't allowed to keep our meds in our rooms. Such small details are okay though, and different hospitals have different rules too.
The romance part of the plot was good too, though has been seen many times before. Adding CF to the story certainly gave it a much needed twist and made it stand out against other similar movies. A lot of people, especially those with CF, compared this film to The Fault In Our Stars. Most compared the two before this one had even come out. They're so wrong. Honestly, the only similarities that I can see are the fact that they're both about teenagers in love and they both have serious illnesses as one of the plot points. Other than those two things, the films are completely different.
One thing that really stood out was the fact that the film was dedicated to Claire Wineland, a CF activist and author. I watched Claires YouTube videos for a few years before the film came out and she's been a big inspiration to people with CF for a while now. Claire unfortunately passed away in September 2018. She acted as a consultant on the movie and I have no doubt that it wouldn't be as good as it is had Claire not been a part of it. She is greatly missed.
Please go watch this film! If you want to learn more about CF I've added a new page to my blog with links to information and different bloggers/vloggers who have CF.
Shannon x
Director: Justin Baldoni
UK Rating: 12A
Length: 116 minutes
Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse, Moises Arias
Five Feet Apart is a film that I've waited all my life for. The plot revolves around two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis, Stella Grant and Will Newman (played by Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse), who start off as people who can't really stand eachother however end up falling in love by the end of he film.
The majority of the film is set in their hospital, on what seems to be a CF ward. Stella is in for routine IVs, whereas Will is in for a trial of a treatment for B. Cepacia (a bacterial infection in the lungs). The two are told to stay over six feet apart from eachother at all times. The two become friends and start breaking the rule, choosing to stay only five feet apart. They do this against all advice from their nurse Barb (Kimberly Hebert Gregory), and with the help of Poe (Moises Arias), another CFer.
If you know me then you'll probably know I have CF. I was diagnosed at 4 weeks old and it's all I have ever known. This film was on my watch list as soon as it was announced. I'm very happy to say that I really enjoyed the film. It was really accurate in terms of CF, the only problems I had with the medical aspect of the film was the hospital rules, when I have stayed in hospital for IVs in the past and another CFer has also been in we aren't allowed anywhere near eachother, let alone in the same room and we also weren't allowed to keep our meds in our rooms. Such small details are okay though, and different hospitals have different rules too.
The romance part of the plot was good too, though has been seen many times before. Adding CF to the story certainly gave it a much needed twist and made it stand out against other similar movies. A lot of people, especially those with CF, compared this film to The Fault In Our Stars. Most compared the two before this one had even come out. They're so wrong. Honestly, the only similarities that I can see are the fact that they're both about teenagers in love and they both have serious illnesses as one of the plot points. Other than those two things, the films are completely different.
One thing that really stood out was the fact that the film was dedicated to Claire Wineland, a CF activist and author. I watched Claires YouTube videos for a few years before the film came out and she's been a big inspiration to people with CF for a while now. Claire unfortunately passed away in September 2018. She acted as a consultant on the movie and I have no doubt that it wouldn't be as good as it is had Claire not been a part of it. She is greatly missed.
Please go watch this film! If you want to learn more about CF I've added a new page to my blog with links to information and different bloggers/vloggers who have CF.
Shannon x
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